Naruto Monogatari
by MariSkep
Summary: Konoha's spider weaves her threads together. In them she has magistrates, lords, ANBU operatives and now a jinchuuriki. Just what is Yuhi Kurenai plotting? And why does she need Naruto and Hinata?
1. The First Threads

So this is basically just a Naruto fic that's been floating around my head for a while. A lot of it was inspired by Team 8 which is probably my favorite fic out there. (With Clones a close second.) The world is noticeabley more modern and I'm trying to incorporate some more adult themes into it. Don't know how good it'll turn out right now. This is basically a rewrite of the first two chapters I put up like 3 years ago. I had a falling out with Naruto but a lot of different fanfics on here have pulled me back in.

If you notice any plot holes, dramatic OOCness, or I get preachy just bop me upside the head. I won't mind.

BTW; I do not own Naruto which is why this is fanfiction and not making me several millions like I'm sure whatever corporate slave driver who owns Kishimoto's contract is making.

Naruto: Monotagari

Chapter 1

Sarutobi looked at the records laid out in front of him. The graduation report listed twenty-seven entries, one for each of the students who had passed the Academy's Exam. With a smile the old Hokage picked up the papers for Team Seven.

"Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto," he said while taking a puff of his long pipe.

The paper work had been finished by some Chuunin long before they had reached his desk. Paper work, as it made its way higher and higher up the chain of command, had a tendency to get done long before reaching anyone with real weight on their shoulders. It wouldn't do to disturb someone on the level of a Kage with the day to day management of a school. Besides, some things are better to keep in house. The higher up you go in the chain of command the less you are willing to forgive. How many fine Shinobi had been spared because a kindly senpai had stressed his innocence and fine record? Enough to keep the practice safe at least for a few more generations.

"Hokage-sama," said a determined feminine voice from across the room.

The old man looked up from his unsigned papers and smiled at the kunoichi before him. She was every inch a classic beauty. Her long black hair fell in cascades down past her shoulders while framing the delicate features of her face.

"I wish to speak with you about the Genin teams," the kunoichi said.

Sarutobi's eyes met the kunoichi's hard gaze and immediately looked away. His eyes had almost wandered over that frame in ways he'd been warned about in the pass. It would not do to gawk like an adolescent school boy.

But could you blame him though? He was a man who appreciated beauty and this woman had it in spades.

The Hokage attempted to clear his head, trying to remove the memory of her 'hot apple ass,' as some ninja had called it, from his mind. He had caught a glimpse of it once before during a performance she had put on for the children of the Academy. Her abilities with Genjutsu always delighted the young ones. How they would cheer and clap at whatever minor trick she pulled for their amusement.

_Focus, Hiruzen_, the almost ancient ninja told himself. _This is the 'Spider' you are meeting with. A ninja who weaves webs so fine you never see them until she is ready for you._ _She wants something otherwise she would not be here talking to an old fart like you._

"Yes, Kurenai," Sarutobi finally said, "I received your note. As you can see, the teams are already selected, the paper work is filled out and all that's left is my signature on a few documents. Are you not happy with the selection?"

Kurenai bowed slightly, looking at the ground as she spoke. "Esteemed Shadow of the Hidden Leaf, the Genin you have honored me with will make a perfect team of trackers. The Hyuuga Byakugan will see our enemies even when they are hidden beneath impenetrable rock. The insects of the Aburame Clan will turn every tree into a new set of eyes. And the Inuzuka Clan's sense of smell will mark our enemies' approach and departure for miles."

"And yet here you are in my office after having left me a note requesting that I place another Genin in your team." Sarutobi spoke plainly. _What's your game this time, Kurenai_. _Let's push a little and see what comes out. _ "You ask too much of me this day, Kurenai. The teams are perfectly balanced and to change them now would cause severe delays to all the other Jounin sensei. No… I simply cannot do it. Forgive me, Kurenai, but the teams stand."

If these words had any effect on her mood, the Jounin did not reveal it. Calm, collected, and reserved were the words that came to mind watching the experienced ninja make her case. "Honorable Leader of Konoha, I do not ask that you rewrite the rosters. It is only my wish that Uzumaki Naruto be given a spot on Team Eight. It is the right of a sensei to choose her students."

Sarutobi frowned. _Naruto? Are you looking to add a Jinchuuriki to your ever expanding list of contacts and allies,_ he thought as he took another draw from his pipe. _Careful now. You're beginning to act like the Danzo you detest so much._

"Uzumaki Naruto was our worst performing student in several very long years." Sarutobi's smiled as if he were relating some bit of gossip. "He cannot be trusted with the delicate duties of a tracker team. He is rash, uncoordinated, lacks even the basics in most jutsu, has almost no understanding of stealth, and there is that other matter of his seal. It is only because of Uchiha Sasuke's skill and Haruno Sakura's intelligence that I have not held the boy back to await the next cycle of Genin selection. As it stands I believe he would compromise almost any mission he is sent in."

That argument had been on the lips of every teacher who had worked with Naruto these past two years. Even Iruka had to admit it; Naruto was a lousy ninja. There was little you could say to such unassailable logic. Each of the boy's weaknesses was well documented, from his inability to perform hand seals at a passable rate, to his failure at working out the most basic genjutsu techniques. It was these sad truths that had convinced almost every ninja in the Hidden Leaf that Naruto was a lost cause. He simply would never make a half decent shinobi. At best he could hope to get by on the skill of his team and who wanted someone like that with them in battle?

But the boy had determination, tenacity (tenacity unlike anything Hiruzen had seen, even from the boy's father) an unbreakable spirit that drove him to push his body until it failed. _Which he_ _does,_ thought Sarutobi. _Often. Fortunately_ _the boy handles defeat and failure with more grace than men my age. Everything is an opportunity to grow and learn with him. _

"Had such an argument been passed to me not a few days before, I would have accepted it without qualm. But the recent incident involving Mizuki has brought previously unknown facts to light. Anyone who can perform the Kage Bunshin no jutsu deserves recognition, and the fact that he can create a thousand clones and sustain them all against an experienced Chuunin speaks volumes of the boy's potential." Kurenai's eyes remained impassive as she broke her bow to look at her superior. Garnets were not as beautiful as those large irises.

For the second time during that meeting Sarutobi would turn away from those piercing eyes. He'd had the strangest feeling she could read his intentions just by looking at him. "Exactly why it is important he be placed in a team that will allow him to explore these new abilities and make up for his weaknesses."

"And yet neither of his teammates has shown any interest in helping him in the past…"

Sarutobi let out a long stream of smoke from the side of mouth. "What are you saying exactly?"

"That neither Uchiha Sasuke nor Haruno Sakura has shown any interest in helping the boy while in the Academy." Kurenai's voice dropped its formality. She looked straight into the Hokage's eyes unflinchingly. "And I question if either of them are the right choice for helping a Genin just coming into his strengths."

Sarutobi opened his mouth to speak but Kurenai would not give up the floor.

"Very few people in this village have shown Naruto anything but anger and disdain," she continued. "The girl Sakura yells at him for the tiniest infraction and Sasuke has a long established reputation of putting those he sees as beneath him down."

"All the more reason for them to be on a team with Naruto," said Sarutobi sharply from across the room. _Shame, if I knew she wanted to argue I would have put a different blend in. This tobacco is far too calming for any sort of confrontation._ "You talk about Naruto's well being but what of Haruno or the Uchiha? This is as much about the two of them growing as it is about Naruto becoming a better ninja."

Kurenai sighed. "I understand that, Hokage-sama. But those are not lessons we should jeopardize the health of others over. They are too learn, yes. But not by using someone who's already Konoha's punching bag as a guinea pig. What someone like him, someone like Naruto needs now are words of encouragement and a group who understands that your fellow ninja are your family."

With her arms folded across her chest, Kurenai could have easily been lecturing a disobedient child and not the leader of the Hidden Leaf village.

"A group who will accept him and not treat him with the level of scorn this village has." The kunoichi's voice was harsh, full of the righteous anger that came from defending something she believed in.

"And do you not think Kakashi of all people would show him this love?"

Kurenai's arms dropped to her side. For a moment she seemed to be reconsidering this whole meeting. But then she smiled at the old man and shook her head.

"I know Kakashi must love the boy and would treat him well. But Kakashi is the only other Sharingan user this village has. If he is to perform his duties to Sasuke he cannot be expected to take the place of Naruto's father. He may be forced to play mediator because of the group's animosity towards the boy and make the Uchiha less receptive to his teachings, especially if he is seen to be showing Naruto favoritism."

Anticipating the Hokage's next line of questioning she continued. "I do not doubt he could give Naruto the affection he needs while performing his duties to the Uchiha and even helping Haruno better herself as a ninja. But Naruto needs someone who will not only give him the love he's been denied all his life but also train him in all the areas he is lacking. That is something I do not believe Kakashi can do better than I."

"You are a genjutsu specialist. Kakashi is a master of hundreds of jutsus. I am certain he could teach Naruto everything from the Omote Renge to the most complicated ninjutsu," said Sarutobi. He'd decided he liked her pitch. The woman was very convincing but there were always formalities to cover.

"Naurto lacks the basics, Hokage-sama," Kurenai said in a polite conversational tone while continuing to smile brightly. "You cannot expect Kakashi to bear the burden of teaching the boy how to walk again. Leave that to me. I shall be his keeper."

Kurenai had lifted her hand to her heart. Sarutobi watched her taking all this in. Finally with a smile he relented.

"Have it your way, Kurenai," he said chuckling. "Naruto is yours. I shall re-write the rosters myself. It shouldn't be too difficult."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Kurenai bowed deeply before turning to leave.

"Just take good care of the boy," she heard the old man whisper.

_Oh don't worry_, she thought, a smile playing on her lips. _I will. Naruto is too… precious to not handle with care._

She would make it all the way home and past a suspicious Kakashi before she burst into laughter. Taking off her clothes, the kunoichi drew a hot bath. Kurenai felt like celebrating, and what better way to celebrate than with a hot bath.

_Well that wasn't so difficult. I suppose it helped I believed all the things I was telling the old man._

As she slid into the hot water, a crow landed on her window sill. The black feathers of its wings beat against the air as it slowed its decent. Kurenai turned her face to watch the bird.

"I suppose he'll remove Kiba or Shino from the team then," she said simply. "No matter, it's Hinata and Naruto I'm truly interested in and the two shall remain in my charge."

Its red eyes taking in every movement she made, the bird brought its beak down against the wood of her home. Smiling, Kurenai continued her bath letting the water wash away the unpleasantness of the morning.

* * *

Kakashi watched Kurenai leave the Hokage's office and head toward her home. He didn't need his Sharingan to tell him she'd been acting strange. Kurenai had always disliked spending time with the other shinobi, but she had always made the effort. An appreciative smile at some joke or other even when it was made at her expense could always be expected from the relatively new Jounin. Kakashi had liked that about her. A good sport was rare amongst women at her rank. But lately she had been distant, avoiding the other Jounin like they avoided civilians.

"What's up with you Kurenai?" he asked no one in particular. "What could you have wanted to see Hokage-sama about and why have you been avoiding us?"

Pocketing his book, Konoha's Copy-Nin then followed the kunoichi from her home to where he knew she went when she had free time, the Konoha's Children's Nursery.

"Kurenai-sama," said a small blonde girl with pigtails.

Kurenai stopped laughing at a joke one of the boys in the front row had told her. Shushing him, the Kunoichi nodded at the outstretched arm.

"What's the difference between boys and girls?" the small girl asked.

"Why do you ask, Kira-chan?"

"Well, I was playing in the bath tub with Mino-kun and tou-san." The girl looked down suddenly, very embarrassed at sharing what had happened behind closed door with the older woman.

"Tou-san got very cross…" she finished not meeting Kurenai's gaze.

The Jounin's smile reflected the affection she felt for the future shinobi in front of her. "Kira-chan has brought up a very interesting question."

Standing, Kurenai walked up to a black board behind her and began to write in capital letters 'Male and Female Anatomy. The difference between girls and boys or gender and sex.'

"The differences between girls and boys that led your father to become so cross with you had to with anatomy…"

Before she could continue a hand shot up from the front row.

The same boy who had made her laugh earlier didn't wait to be called before asking his question. "What's ano-whatever mean?"

It was amazing how Kurenai managed to speak, write down everything she said on the board and treat her makeshift class to her loving smile the entire time.

"Anatomy," she said drawing the word out slowly. "It means what makes up our bodies."

"Oh…"

The children looked at each other, not sure what to say. Noticing their confusion Kurenai tried to put them at ease. "What you need to remember from this is that you aren't all that different. Anatomically we began the same way. It was our experiences in life that made us so different. So really…"

The genjutsu specialist made a sweeping motion with her arms as if to embrace all present. "We're all the same! We're just better at different things."

"Like you and genjutsu!" cried a girl in the back row delighted to understand her sensei's meaning. Equally delighted she had reached one of the children present Kurenai nodded before beginning to erase the board.

"But, Kurenai-sensei, does that mean I can still turn into a girl?"

It was the same boy from before. While Kurenai did not appreciate how often he spoke out of turn, she valued his inquisitive and critical mind. Such things should be nurtured; she often told herself and anyone who would listen.

"Our sex is determined at birth by the hormones in our bodies," Kurenai replied slowly. _How do I answer the boy truthfully without pitchfork wielding parents showing up to have me flayed?_

"Hormones," she began to elaborate, "are just chemicals your body produces. And these chemicals end up having an impact on what we look like physically. Ultimately however, it is our life choices that make us who we are. Like how I was born with red eyes but being Konoha's Genjutsu master?" As she spoke the room became filled with dancing lights that swirled around the children before decorating the ceiling with their likeness. "That was something I chose to become."

_Squeelling, the kids bounced up and down__Today is turning into a fine day_, she thought blissfully. Just then she noticed a high chakra level approach hers. Looking to the door she saw Hatake Kakashi standing there, Icha Icha novel in hand, his one lazy eye looking around taking in the room.

Beaming Kurenai looked away from her fellow Jounin. "Class, I think we've all learned a lot today. Go play but don't stray too far from the nursery, kay?"

The children cheered and ran outside past the Copy-Nin. With a bored expression he watched them all head out before turning his eye to Kurenai who greeted him with a warm smile.

"It's good to see you Kakashi. I didn't know you volunteered here."

"I don't," Kakashi said simply. "But I know you do which is why I'm here. I wanted to talk to you."

"Are you upset that I've taken Naruto away from you?" ask Kurenai, her voice innocent but still very defensive to someone as experienced as the ex-ANBU operative. "I thought you would welcome the opportunity to train Sasuke on your own. Dealing with the demanding amount of training for a Sharingan user and looking after a Jinchuuriki…"

Kakashi cut her off. "That's…. that's not why I'm here."

Seeing her at a loss for words Kakashi continued. "You've been acting weird, Kurenai. After a mission you report directly to the Hokage and then head home or to the nursery. It's like none of us exist to you anymore. I wanna- I wanna make sure my friend is ok. Did something happen?"

It was rare for this Jounin to show open concern for others. That he would approach her directly instead of going behind her back for the answers he wanted was something Kurenai appreciated. Both because it meant he respected her and because it meant she could continue her schemes in peace.

_He really is a good guy_, she thought.

Kurenai smiled at the masked Jounin. "Nothing is wrong, Kakashi, I'm fine. I suppose I was so excited to become a sensei I've been neglecting you all. I'm off in an hour. Get Asuma and hell even Gai and we can all go out for the night. I've made all the preparations for my Genin team so it won't be an issue if I take the night off."

"Gai…" Kakashi sighed.

"Oh!" laughed Kurenai thinking back on the 'rivalry' between the Copy-Nin and Konoha's Green Beast. "I know the two of you love each other's company."

Kakashi's exposed eye shot wide open. The man could not have had a more outraged look on his face if someone had told him he were pregnant with a bijuu.

"…why not?" was all he said.

* * *

**Read and review and stuffz.**


	2. Deciever

**This is the rewrite for chapter 2. Not entirely happy with it but you can only get so far with self-criticism. Apologies for the OOCness. Hope you all enjoy**

* * *

"Is this place always so packed?" asked Asuma as the four Jounin waited for a seat. The restaurant Gai had picked was in the center of Konoha's commercial district. Surrounded by everything from the village's bank to its few hotels, the White Lotus, received everything from diplomats to clan heirs, all looking for a good time away from the politics of life. "We shoulda just gone to Ri'oko's."

"Ri'oko's is a dump." Kakashi looked up from his latest IchaIcha novel a little surprised it was Gai who had spoken. "The place smells of old whiskey and old cigars. How could our flames ever be fanned in a place like that." _More like it,_ thought the Copy-Nin as he turned the page. "The White Lotus is teeming with life. See all the smiles, smell the blossoming youth."

"Yeah…" Asuma lit a fresh cigarette. "Definitely smells like teen spirit in here," he muttered with disdain.

"Nothing teen about that couple," giggled Kurenai watching an older woman escorted by a much younger man. "Well at least nothing teen about her. And besides, what would you be doing at Ri'oko's? Drinking gin, complaining about the last girl who passed on your dick and listening to some god awful music about how wonderful tractors and life on the farm is?"

"Yes!" said Asuma pointing his cigarette at the red-eyed beauty. "And I'd be having a fucking grand time doing it too."

"Friends!"Gai fixed the party with a grin that was somehow able to show off everyone of his brilliantly white teeth. "Why so much quarrelling? Look, here is our lovely hostess, ready to take us to our seats." The green spandex wearing Jounin smiled at the young woman approaching them. "Good evening, Miss. Forgive my staring. It is not often I meet a woman who walks with such grace. Your every step is like the wind gliding over blades of grass. May I ask your name?'

"Um-" the girl blushed. Working in a place like this, she'd gotten used to older men hitting on her but none had ever been this flowery. "I'm Miku and I'll be your waitress for the evening. Please follow me and I'll take you to your table."

"Please," said Gai his voice filled with melodramatic dread. "I fear if we are not seated soon my friend here might go through another 4 packs before we even get a chance to drink!"Asuma let out a long stream of smoke into the face of the Green Beast. Gai batted it away while giving Miku a pained look. "Do you see, Miko? Do you see? I think of them first and this is how I am repaid."

Kurenai laughed. "Gai, I have to hang out with you more often. Miku, mind getting me a Long Island Ice Tea?"

"Not a problem," Miku replied in a bright and cheery voice. "And for the gentlemen-?"

" shots. On the rocks," he said as he lit yet another cigarette. "Hell, just bring out the bottle."

"Um… We can't do that…"

Asuma sighed. "Then just the two shots then."

"I'll take what Kurenai's having," yawned Kakashi as he put an arm over his chair and began to lean back into it.

"I will let the young lady choose my drink," Gai said while giving Miko another brilliant display of his many white teeth. "Surpsise me, Miko. I'm up for anything once."

"Twice if ya like it?" laughed Miko. The young woman shook her head as she wrote something down her pad.

"And a third if it's good," replied Gai.

The young woman giggled. "I'll get ya a 'Green Beast,'" she said smiling at the green clad Jounin. "I think it'd fit you. I'll be a back in a minute. Hang on for me, ok, sug'?"Miko winked at Gai who only smiled back at her. Across from him, Asuma's face had grimaced into an expression of pure contempt.

"How the fuck do you do that?" he asked pointedly.

"Women like gay guys," answered Kakashi. "They find them nonthreatening so they have no problem hopping into bed with them."

"And you know this from those _wonderful _real life accounts you're always reading?" Kurenai couldn't help but tease. Kakashi's eye somehow defied all reason and managed to frown. "Oh come on, don't look at me like that. That's all you ever read!"

"Indeed," laughed Gai patting Kakashi on the back. "My rival is quite the ero fan, isn't he? But Kakashi, you do me wrong. I appreciate beauty, health and warmth whether it's in the arms of a young woman or a sour man with a fine beard and love for nicotine."

Asuma pointed his cigarette at Gai. "I _will_ cut you," he said exhaling as he did so. "I ain't some 19 year old tart. Date your age for fuck's sake, Gai. It's creepy watching you pick up girls who don't even remember the last War."

"Asuma, you don't remember the last war," snapped Kakashi. "Listening to you tell it, you defeated all the Iwa-nin."

"Good stories always need a little embellishment," shrugged Asuma. "Here we go." Miko had returned with their drinks. Taking his, the veteran gave it an appreciative sniff. "Now this is bourbon," he said before draining the tumbler. "I'll take another."

"Don't keep me on my feet too long," said Miko as she handed Kurenai and Kakashi their drinks. "And here you go, hun." Smiling at Gai she placed a large jar of green liquid in front of him. "Careful with that. Seen guys knocked off their feet by it."

"Ah, but how often have you seen a young lady swept off her feet by a 'Green Beast'?" Gai returned the smile before taking a small sip. "Hmmm… I'm afraid I'll have to ask for one these every time I come here."

"Be sure to ask for me too," cooed Miko.

"How could I not?" The young waitress and Taijutsu master locked eyes. Miko's mouth dropped open for a moment as if considering whatever Gai's eyes had promised.

Remembering she still had 3 other customers, Miko tore her eyes away from Gai and looked back at the rest of the group. "You folks ready to order?" she asked the table.

"I'm just drinking tonight," answered Asuma, shaking his head at Gai.

"Me too," echoed Kurenai pulling at Kakashi's mask, trying to expose the bit of his face he never showed.

"I'll just have the duck," grunted Kakashi as he pushed Kurenai's hand away. The Genjutsu specialist giggled withdrawing her hand.

"I'll have the house steak," said Gai, looking up from the menu and handing it Miko.

"And how do you want it?" Not even a deaf, blind mute would have missed the coyness in her voice. "Well done or with a moist pink center?"

"You know me well enough to guess, Miko."

Nodding, the young woman smiled at him. "I'll be back with your warm pink center." Without even a glance at the rest of the seated ninjas, Miko took her leave.

"If you don't wake up with a kidney missing tomorrow, I'm gonna be pissed." Asuma had that look of disdain back on his face. "Why do places like this always hire girls like that?"

Kurenai looked up from the drink she'd been trying to feed Kakashi. (His mask made it especially difficult) "Because we mean repeat business and keep customers with a smile on their face."

"It's a mutually beneficial relationship," said Gai trying to catch a glimpse of Miko as she turned a corner. "Manager gets better business, customers get a few thrills and the staff make a nice bit on the side. Unless the manager isn't someone of scruples, of course."

"Yeah," agreed Kurenai. "Then ya gotta raid the register to make up the difference."

"And that old fart is trusting you with kids," Asuma groaned.

"We're ninjas, aren't we, Asuma?" Kakashi, finally free of Kurenai, adjusted his mask. "That's kinda what we do."

"Hard to argue with that," muttered Asuma. "I suppose it comes with the territory."

"True that!" Kurenia raised her glass to the group. "Bottoms up, gentlemen. Asuma's already finished his and we're pretty far behind." The group clinked glasses.

They drank for hours. Miko kept the group supplied with fresh drinks that they were only too happy to accept. Asuma (after the 4th or 5th round) got over his disapproval of the place and lead the whole restaurant in a dance. Gai left with Miko the moment she was off shift. And Kakashi downed drink after drink. The Copy-Nin and Spider laughed and joked until they were the only two of their group left and the crowd began to thin. Using Kakashi for support, Kurenai led them to the bar, where they sat beside one another and ordered another round of drinks.

"So the target's lying there bleeding out and his wife's over him stabbing him with a kitchen knife twice as big as the sword I'm carrying. She looks at me and says 'Did you know he never once said he loved me?' And all my dumb 16 year old self can think to do is give her advice on the right way to kill someone. 'You can't just stab them to death like this. Look at all the blood. You're his wife. Get him drunk, pour a bath and hold his head under water til he drowns.'" Kakashi took another drink from his beer. "I swear to kami above, she must've off'ed her last 2 husbands with that trick."

Kurenai laughed into her drink. "You have a way with women, Kakashi," she said poking him in the side. "Hey. Hey. Hey. I think you're cute." In a display of mock shyness The Spider batted her eyelashes and offered her exposed shoulder to her companion. "I'm so tipsy. If only there was some handsome, thoughtful, caring man to protect an innocent girl like me. I fear this drink just does not agree with my delicate constitution."

"Asuma's the one into the skanky country girl routine, not me-Ow!" Kurenai had slapped him on the shoulder. "What? You were being skanky- Ow! Quit hitting me!"

"Quit calling me a skank!" Kurenai took another swing at her companion. Kakashi caught her hand effortlessly. "Leggo!"

"Young lovers," a voice said from their side. Both Jounin turned to face who'd spoken. A middle-aged woman was grinning at them from the stool next to Kurenai's. "That takes me back."

"Oh! No we're not-" began Kakashi quickly shaking his head.

"Yeah, we're just friends," agreed Kurenai picking up where her 'friend' had left off. "He's a Jounin and we're both waaaay to busy for that."

The woman laughed. "My husband and I were just friends until one night we both met for drinks right here at this bar."

"What happened?" the Spider asked sipping from her drink and placing Kakashi's arm over her shoulder. "Maybe you can give this one tips on how to seal the deal."

"It looks like he has that figured out, sweetheart. Boy this handsome," the older woman gave Kakashi an appreciative once over. "I'm surprised you didn't leave your panties at the door."

Kurenai squealed. She couldn't help but blush to the roots of her hair. "I- I need to use the ladies room," she said laughing. "See you in a bit." Stopping only to give Kakashi a quick peck on the cheek, Kurenai hurried off towards the restroom.

"She's very, pretty." Kakashi turned his one open eye to the woman now trying to fill the silence. "You're lucky."

"Yeah," mumbled the normally masked ninja.

"You're shinobi?" the woman tried again. "I just met with one of you a few hours ago. I understand how important you all are. Without you we'd be at the mercy of all the other nations."

"That's the line anyway…"

"I'm sorry?" The woman frowned unsure of what to make of the ninja in front of her. The one that afternoon had seemed so different from this one.

Kakashi took a drink before answering. "I said that's the line. It's the same one we get fed in ANBU, the Academy and every time we get an A ranked mission. 'You fight for the good of Konoha.' 'Without you we'd be defenseless.' 'You are keepers of a great legacy.' Then someone remembers you can't march on an empty stomach so they turn around and feed you all the same lines. 'We defend our way of life.' 'We stand steadfast at the gates.' Sound familiar? It's just a sale pitch." The Copy-Nin opened his closed eye, showing her what had earned him the nickname "Copy Cat". "This didn't come from some enemy village looking to kill your kids. It came from my closest friend. We were on a mission, and our sensei was away… My buddy- his whole body was crushed. All that was left intact was this eye. He told me to take it, that it would make me a more powerful ninja. That I would be strong enough to protect Konoha.

"We were 12," finished the Jounin. Whatever was happening inside him left no trace on his face. It was as cold as a frozen lake.

"Have you," the woman asked after a long silence. "Have you protected Konoha?"

"I'm an assassin. I kill people I'm told to. I get a name and finish by date. Then I go, stalk them, learn their habits, watch them sit down with their families and tuck their kids away. All those private moments we 'defend.' I wait for them to be alone, away from the people who could protect them, away from all the faces they'd beg to see one last time. Then I kill them." The Jounin poured the rest of his drink down his throat."And tomorrow, I'll train 3 12 year olds to do the same."

"Hey!" Kurenai said brightly as she returned to her seat.

"Excuse me." The older woman dropped some notes by her drink and walked off without looking at either of them.

"Did something happen?" asked Kurenai with a frown on her face.

"No," lied Kakashi without a second thought. "She just had to get going. Hey," he whispered ss he leaned close to Konoha's Spider. "You wanna get going?" She looked at him for a moment before nodding. "I'll cover our drinks. Ya mind spending the night at my place?"

Kurenai shook her head. "I'd love to," she whispered as she stood and pressed her body against his back. "I'm sorry, Kakashi."

"Huh?"

Instead of answering him, she turned his head and placed a tender kiss on his lips. "You're a good guy," she murmured into his ear. Kurenai would murmur the same later than night while Kakashi was on top of her whispering how perfect she was. In between their moans the Copy-Nin forgot all his missions. Her scent enveloped him, pushing him deeper into her, making each kiss hungrier than the last. It filled his nostrils, numbing his mind as he felt the tension building inside him finally release into that wonderful body. As he drifted off to sleep he never heard her whisper another apology.

Lying awake next to him, Kurenai traced her fingers along Kakashi's many scars. Across the Copy-Nin's chest were the only honors he'd ever cared for. _I'll make it up to you, I promise,_ she thought reflecting on the day. The woman who had sat beside her was Miyagi Ema, the newly appointed head of Konoha's Merchant's guild. She'd met with a representative from ROOT asking for financial backing for one of their new programs. He'd made a very passionate case. Ema had seemed almost entirely convinced according to Kurenai's contact.

Once a year, Ema went to the White Lotus in honor of her departed husband. She went at the same time and sat at the same stool ordering the same drink. The time and place the widow's husband had kissed her. At least according to the nanny who watched over Ema's 12 year old twins. The kunoichi sighed as she closed her eyes waiting for sleep. "No rest for the wicked," she told herself. This would be another sleepless night.

* * *

It was very late into the afternoon when Kurenai walked into the now almost empty classroom. Three children, not yet in their teens, sat at the far end of the room. Well, where two were sitting. The third stood just off to the side.

_Even Kakashi beat me here._

The Jounin looked a little worse for wear. Her eyes had heavy bags under them and her hair was slightly disheveled. The combat vest had been replaced with the normal mesh and red silk the genjutsu mistress was known for.

With warm but weary eyes she turned to Team Eight. A smile came easily to her as she looked at the Hyuuga and Jinchuuriki. A rookie Jounin had effectively taken the boy out of Danzo's grasp for good. That's twice she'd ruined the man's plans in one week. If that wasn't reason to smile, what was? "Hello, my name is Yuuhi Kurenai. As you must already know, I am a Jounin and your new sensei."

She stopped suddenly lifting her beautiful eyes up to the Genin who had placed himself so far from the rest of his team.

"Shino!" she called out in mock anger. "What are you doing all the way over there? Your team is right here."

Expressionlessly Aburame Shino walked over to where Naruto and a deeply blushing Hinata were sitting. He stood there with his hands in his pockets like a silent observer.

'_Strange,'_ thought Kurenai._'None of your reports indicate you're a particularly unsocial individual… I see. You wanted to observe your new teammates. But haven't you had enough time for that at the Academy, Shino? Or perhaps it's me that you wanted under the microscope?'_

Storing those thoughts away for some time in the future, the experienced Kunoichi addressed her two other charges with the same mock outrage she had used on their teammate.

"And the two of you!" she chided. "I suppose you were so lost whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears you completely forgot about poor Shino!"

At this accusation Hinata's face became beet red and she buried her face in the collar of her thick jacket. Naruto on the other hand seemed to not get the joke.

"Well I would have if he quit being such a weirdo and actually said something!" he fired back standing as he spoke. "And quit talking to me like I'm some little kid. I'm a ninja, remember?"

Grinning like the devil fox he was, Naruto's hands went up to his hitai-ate as if everyone present should give their undivided attention to him and it. It was obvious the protective metal piece had been polished the night before, and the cloth had been treated to some equally meticulous cleaning.

'_It's the only part of you that's actually presentable_,' thought Kurenai observing the metal shine. '_That one belonged to Iruka, your mentor. No wonder it means so much to you.'_

"Kurenai-sensei."

Every eye turned to look at the Aburame bug user. He had removed his right hand from his pockets and was moving it in a way that punctuated his words.

"Should we not all introduce ourselves? If it meets with your approval I would like to go first."

The Jounin smiled and nodded. The twelve-year-old walked to the front of his team, between them and their sensei, and spoke.

"My name is Aburame Shino, and as you know I specialize in insects and arachnids."

"Bugs!"Naruto said interrupting his teammate. "You use bugs to fight, right? I think that's super cool! I wish I could do that."

"Yes…" Shino looked from Hinata to Naruto before continuing. "I study the biological sciences and chemistry in my spare time. I find such disciplines have made me a much more effective user of my clan's jutsu. I am better able to understand the workings of my tenants' minds, bodies and life cycles. Someday I hope to add to the body of knowledge my family has spent so many generations slowly building."

"I like the sciences too, Shino," said Kurenai with an approving nod. "Though I favor the social sciences."

She liked Team Eight's last member. He seemed very collected, a perfect complement to the self conscious Hyuuga and rash Naruto. He would be a fine influence.

"Highly speculative and lacking a sizeable body of evidence," said Shino appreciatively. "Yet not to be dismissed considering how broad its implications can be. I suspect regardless of what is discovered your field will always prove both illuminating and captivating."

Kurenai could only smile at the boy. _You're such an odd kid. But in a good way._

"Hinata why don't you go next," the Jounin suggested once Shino had walked back to where he had been standing besides the young girl. Both he and Naruto looked at the Hyuuga, the former with the impassiveness he greeted the world with and the latter with the smirk and wink that made the girl's heart melt.

"Yeah, 'Nata-chan! Let's hear it!"

The love-struck girl blushed to the roots of her hair at the nickname the object of her affection gave her.

"H-Hai!" she said slowly.

When she was finally standing where Shino had delivered his introduction, Hinata looked first at Kurenai (possibly hoping the Jounin would let her sit back down) then at her two teammates.

"H-Hello," she began at barely above a whisper. "M-my My name is H-Hinata. Um…"

The group watched the young Hyuuga trip and stumble over her words. For their part they seemed to be trying to look as encouraging as possible, but it did little to instill confidence in their teammate. Hinata looked back at Kurenai who simply nodded her sleepy eyes, making her warm smile all that more sincere.

"Keep going," the Jounin said. "You're doing fine."

"H-hai!"

Taking a deep breath, Hinata continued more to the floor then to anything else. "I-I like calligraphy and-and pressing flowers… um… I… um someday hope to bring honor to Otou-san and my clan."

"That's boring," said Naruto to a quizzical glance from his new sensei. "Don't you wanna do anything just for you?"

Hinata looked at Naruto unable to speak.

"I mean, jeez, who cares what your oyaji wants you to do. He's not the boss is he?"

"Naruto…" the drawling voice of Shino said from the blonde's side. "Hinata's wishes are her own. It is not our place to judge them or her."

"But Hinata-chan, you haven't told us anything!" Naruto said indignantly addressing his answer to Hinata. Instead of sounding accusatory, the brash voice held the smallest hint of hurt. This was of course absurd. What reason did Naruto have to mind not being told every detail of his teammate's life?

"Actually she has given no less information than I have," the Aburame said raising his hand to the large collar of his coat. "While she has used considerably fewer words than I, she has been no less open. Hinata, please continue."

But the young girl would not. The shade of red she had turned before was nothing compared to the deep crimson that reached to the roots of her short dark hair. Poor Hinata was practically frozen in place.

Kurenai came to the rescue. "I think its Naruto's turn."

The red faced girl said a silent thank you and almost ran back to her seat. Naruto sniffed, thumbed his nose, and stood up. With all the confidence and arrogance the youth was known for he pointed dramatically at his teammates.

"My name is UzumakiNaruto, and I'm gonna be the next Hokage!" he declared. He watched the pair sitting across from him expecting some kind of response. When he received none, he sniffed again.

"I like ramen, weekends and… Oh yeah! I really like showing up those ANBU dweebs. Hah! You should see them Kurenai-sensei," laughed Naruto as he turned to face his new instructor, "trying to catch me after I visit gramps. Like a bunch of guys in masks are ever gonna catch Konoha's greatest ninja!"

"I find myself a little more skeptical than usual of this story, Naruto," Shino interjected.

Naruto's face twisted into a scowl, the expression seeming almost cartoonish with the way his sharp canines stood out. His eyes became little more than slits on his face. Naruto was quickly losing patience with his new teammate.

"ANBU are renowned for their tracking abilities. What's more they receive exclusively A and S ranked missions. For you to evade them would heavily suggest you also be able to evade Iruka-sensei, who you regularly fail to…"

"Only because he already knows all my hiding spots!" howled Naruto, more from a sense of bruised ego than anything else. Kurenai hid a smile and watched the two boys. She really liked this new team. Each fresh and unique with their own biases. _I can definitely work with this._

"H-Hey!" Naruto's cartoonish scowl gave way to an equally ridiculous look of outrage as he further considered the bug user's words. "You calling me a liar?"

"Lying involves intentional deception. I believe it is far more likely you are either exaggerating or remember the events incorrectly," answered Shino, his calm voice perfect for defusing the situation. "None of which involves intentional deceit on your part Naruto. The mind has a way of forgetting details and adding new ones. Memory is very much tied with emotion which results in-"

"Ok! Ok! Geez!"Naruto folded his arms across his chest, the same absurd scowl he had worn earlier back on his face. "Let's make a deal. I watch my fat mouth, you talk stupid to me. Fair?"

Caught off-guard and unsure of how to proceed, Shino said nothing choosing instead to watch the strange specimen through his sunglasses.

Kurenai smiled politely. _You certainly put up a fearsome front. Let's see how much bite there is to back up your bark, Naruto._

"An excellent goal to have, Naruto. I'm honored to have students with such ambition and spirit. Variety has been one of the defining characteristics of many great teams. It has been my experience as a Jounin that the more fresh eyes you have looking at a problem, the more solutions you can come up with. I expect each of you to excel and make me proud."

The three Genin looked at their sensei, each feeling the woman's warmth. Naruto, who always loved a compliment, found her kind praise a sweet caress to his fragile ego. Hinata, who hated confrontation and expected a harsh task master much like her father, found the woman's soft touch a relief. Shino, who appreciated nuance, found himself approving of the Kunoichi's carefully chosen words.

"As for myself…"

The group looked up at their new sensei expectantly. With the same tired smile she had greeted them, Kurenai spoke.

"Nothing makes me happier than seeing the future of this village grow up to be strong shinobi." She said. The words were clearly ones she felt obligated to say even if they didn't quiet reach her heart of hearts.

"But I would much rather they grow to be good human beings first. Power is a great thing. It keeps our village safe and stable in turbulent times. But only those who know how to use it can ever hope to maintain that stability. A peace brought about by fear isn't peace. It's a bitter lonely game where everyone loses… Tomorrow at 0700 we'll begin training. There will be a series of tests throughout the week where I'll gauge your aptitude and strengths. You are all dismissed for the rest of the day. Except for you Naruto. Meet me in an hour and half at the Ichiraku Ramen stand. I understand that is where you have your meals? The rest of you please have a fine evening. I will see you all tomorrow at seven."

The two boys rose to walk out of the class room, Naruto with a confused look on his face and Shino with the impassive expression he always wore. Hinata lagged behind, which made what Kurenai had planned next all that easier.

"Oh, Hinata!" she said feigning to have forgotten something. "Would you be willing to introduce me to your father?"

Her eyes shining with the warmth she had greeted the team with, Kurenai looked down at the young Hyuuga. The girl immediately looked down at her feet. Her hands dropped to her long jacket while she nibbled on the collar.

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei. Otou-san said he wished to meet my sensei." The words were uttered at barely above a whisper, and had Kurenai not been specifically listening to the girl she would have missed what she said.

'_We'll have to work on you,'_ the Jounin thought smiling at the girl. She took the younger kunoichi by the hand in a gesture meant to say 'It's ok, I'm here with you.' Her action must have been interpreted as something altogether different though. The girl's hands only grew sweatier as the two walked to the Hyuuga compound.

In the back of her mind Kurenai registered every one of the girl's movements. Her foot steps were very light as if she were afraid to make any noise, never looked up from the ground and seemed to gravitate towards walls as if to make herself as unnoticeable as possible. From these observations Kurenai began trying to fit her new student into one of the many profiles she had collected over the years.

_You haven't been abused, not by the strictest definition of the word at least. But you have been neglected. How does your father treat you, Hinata? Has anyone in that home ever told you they loved you?_As the Hyuuga compound came into view, Kurenai stole a glance at her student. The girl looked as if she were returning to a jail cell. _There's that question answered. __I don't believe Hiashi and I are going to see eye to eye. That's lucky. Here I was feeling guilty, but it seems isolation is just what the doctor prescribed._


	3. Like stars and tsutsuji

**Here's chapter 3. I re wrote this whole thing from scratch, deleted it, rewrote it again and then smacked my head into a wall because it still wasn't right. I definitely need to work on my stealth sections and dialogue. Anyway I hope you all enjoy. A couple stories I like got updated so I have something to read tonight. (Yay, me!)**

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi was as severe a figurehead as one could imagine. The man's entire person radiated authority the way a jinchuuraki radiated chakra. His every step was taken with such assuredness it was as if he expected the Earth itself to move for him. And, watching him walk through the gates of the Hyuuga Compound after a branch member went to find him, Kurenai wouldn't be surprised if it did. With a face like marble, the Clan Leader greeted Kurenai. "Good evening, Jounin-san," he said taking a short bow.

"Good evening, Hiashi-sama," replied The Spider returning the bow. "I am Yuuhi Kurenai, your daughter's new sensei."

"Yuuhi?" repeated Hiashi slowly. "Please excuse my ignorance but I do not know the name Yuuhi. Where does it come from?" asked Hiashi rising from his bow.

_Hmm? _thought Kurenai. _Are we playing this game? Good. The Hokage thinks it a waste of his time these days._

"I do not know." Said the Spider as she rose. She watched Hiashi's face for some form of reaction but couldn't find a single wrinkle out of place. _The man is immovable._With a shrug, she continued "I am an orphan and was given the name by the Matron at the orphanage. I have yet to meet any in Konoha with my name."

Hiashi gestured towards the Hyuuga home. Without waiting for a reply, the Hyuuga Head began making his way slowly back up to the Main Branch home, a beautiful Japanese style house in the middle of a magnificent garden. Throughout the compound Branch members could be seen tending the many vibrant colored plants that made up the Hyuuga's teien. Lush momiji gave way to beautiful, thriving tsutsuji, while white, pink and red tsubaki traced a lightly trodden dirt path. Through all of it a small stream flowed beginning at the very steps of the Main Branch home. Kurenai couldn't help but notice the sharp contrast between the world around him and Hiashi himself. Like watching a red petal fall softly onto a field of white snow.

"To not know one's family and history," Hiashi said to the Jounin, "It speaks poorly of our era."

"My name is my own," returned Kurenai. "I am free of the sins that came before. My life is mine and none will live or die for it but me." For the first time Kurenai saw a small twitch in Hiashi's stone countenance. _Ah,_ said the Spider to herself. _A memory that still haunts you? Or maybe it's just a blemish you wish forgotten?_ "I cherish this opportunity, I am bound to none and none are bound to me."

"That is a fickle gift, like most we are born into are." Hiashi didn't even acknowledge the Branch member who opened the door for them. Hinata, to Kurenai's approval, gave the man a small bow and whispered a few words of thanks. "There are none to carry the sins of the nameless but what light guides them? In a world where the path is so poorly lit, what is there to show them the way? They will stumble, trip and fall and none will be there to set them right."

"I do not fear the darkness, Hiashi-sama." A sad smile came across Kurenai's face. "It takes all things in, cities, men and mountains. When there is no light to blind us, we are all the same. The light lies to us, you see. It shows us shapes that have no meaning but forces meaning onto them. We become bound by what the light shows us, forgetting there are things outside the light, and other paths to walk besides the one it lit."Hiashi stopped and looked at the woman beside him. Kurenai only smiled expectantly. After a moment the Hyuuga Head turned and gestured towards a room where a Branch member was waiting by a small table.

"You will not be needed tonight," said Hiashi dismissively. The woman bowed before taking her leave. "Hinata, prepare the table. We will be having gyokuro tonight." The small girl nodded before scurrying off to fetch a kama and place it over a small hearth fire. Kurenai noticed her movements were very well practiced. The girl did not trip or stumble at all. In fact there was something oddly graceful about her movements.

"Jade's dew?" asked Kurenai raising an eyebrow. "I would not have guessed you enjoyed something so sweet, Hiashi-san." _Let's drop the 'sama'. I'd rather speak as your equal and not your inferior, Hiashi._

"I do not." Hiashi replied sternly. He too had been watching his daughter move about the room. "But the fragrance is pleasant and it puts guests at ease."

"You need not trouble yourself on my behalf, Hiashi-san. I am as happy with gyokuro as I am with plain water." Konoha's Spider allowed herself a small laugh. Hiashi, to her amazement, joined in.

"I am nothing if not a good host," said Hiashi as he raised the small cup Hinata had just filled with tea to his lips. "It is a small gesture of good faith I show to those who step into my home. I would have them enjoy their time within the Hyuuga walls. However brief their visit may be, our walls are high and the Hyuuga are strong, so we must always make room for such acts of consideration."

_Oh, boy,_ thought Kurenai catching the implication of those last two sentences._ Don't wave your dick at me, Hiashi. I don't care how big it is. You and the Hyuugas don't scare me. _"Thank you, Hinata. The tea smells lovely," she said to the smaller kunoichi. Hinata only bowed before taking her seat and staring pointedly at the table. "I have yet to see the juuken in action."

Hiashi placed his tea on the table. He looked from Hinata to Kurenai before speaking. "You have not tested Hinata and yet you have accepted her as your pupil?" asked the Hyuuga Head the marble moving from his face to his voice. "That is… strange. I have known many Jounin yet none has ever taken a student without testing him first. Your methods are strange, Yuuhi Kurenai."

"I like to think so," replied Kurenai with a bright smile. "Honestly, I do not see the point of such tests. I am a teacher, it is my duty to teach the students given to me. If I can only teach certain students or if I will only accept those who do not need to be taught and learn on their own, I am not much of a teacher." Kurenai took a sip of her tea. It tasted as amazing as it smelled. She'd have to ask the girl to show her how to prepare some sometime. "I adapt to them so that they might grow without me to hinder them."

Hiashi sipped his tea. The stoic's pale white eyes closed for a moment as he considered the woman's words and his daughter's brew. "It is not hindrance to grow within the foundation laid by the wisdom of an elder," Hiashi said finally. He turned his pale eyes from his tea to Kurenai. "Like tsutsuji, we are made beautiful by the skillful cutting of a practiced hand."

It was Kurenai's turn to turn inward. The genjutsu specialist raised her tea to her lips again, watching the steam rise from the green colored tea. "Beautiful…" the word rolled off her tongue like it was some long forgotten memory buried somewhere in her mind. "The careful gardener cuts away at the plant until it is beautiful to his eyes. He gives her water so that she buds when he wants her to. His hand is steady as he severs leaves and all the small buds that do not look right to him or do not grow fast enough. But not every plant will grow as he wants." Kurenai traced her finger along the rim of her small porcelain cup. She could feel Hinata's eyes on even if the girl would not look up at her. "Some will not bud when he commands, nor will new leaves grow as to make her more beautiful to him or the way he thinks they must grow. Gardeners often forget it is not they who create the beauty. The beauty was in the plant, always, waiting for a way to show itself. The gardener must bring out the beauty, not seek to create it."

"But weeds and worse will take then." Hiashi's voice was curt but somehow Kurenai thought she heard something resembling sympathy in it."If he left the garden unattended and unwatched, there would be no beauty. The momiji would starve the tsutsuji, taking all the sun and water. Tsutsuji is delicate, it does not have the stature to grow above the other plants. It would die."

"Perhaps tsutsuji is stronger than you think, Hiashi-san." The Jounin and patriarch looked at each other. Kurenai with her serene smile and Hiashi with his face of stone. In between them was Hinata who would not look up from her tea. The small kuniochi seemed frozen in time, unable to even make a sound. "But listen to us. We are not like grass, I do not think, Hiashi-san. More like mountains before the gale."

The Hyuuga Head's expression softened and something resembling feeling crept into his voice. "We do not bend so that we may not break. We stand tall and wait for the storm to pass," agreed Hiashi with a nod of his head. "Would you like more tea, Kurenai-sensei?"

"I am content with what I have, Hiashi-sama," answered Kurenai looking at Hinata with an approving expression. "But I must ask your daughter to show me how she makes tea. This is simply wonderful." Hinata looked up and smiled at her new sensei. "It is easily the best tea I have ever had."

"If you enjoy my daughter's tea so much then you must visit again. Hinata will be performing the chanoyu now that the brazier season is upon us. It is to be done on the first of the coming month," Hiashi informed his daughter's new sensei. The woman smiled and nodded taking another sip of her tea. "I understand that your other pupils are to be Aburame Shino and UzumakiNaruto." Hiashi's voice had a small edge to it. _Now what's thi?_ thought Kurenai. _You cannot possibly look down on two boys. The Aburame are an odd but respected clan and the Uzumaki are as respected as the Hyuuga. You can't be ignorant of Naruto's parentage so what are you playing at?_

"You are well informed, Hiashi-sama," Kurenai said appreciatively. Soft praise would be better than bluntness now that each knew where the other stood and it cost nothing to look at someone without disdain or suspicion. "Shino and Naruto are to be Hinata's teammates until such time as Team 8 is dissolved. The jutsus of the Aburame will be a perfect complement to the Byakugan and, of course, we both know what Naruto brings to any team…" Hinata's looked at her sensei and father with confusion in her eyes. "A hyperactive knucklehead's tenacity," finished Kurenai laughing again.

Hiashi allowed himself a smile. "And it is that hyperactive knuckleheaded tenacity you requested be placed on your team." Something inside Kurenai twitched but she pushed it further from the surface hoping to keep it from the Hyuuga. Still smiling, Hiashi continued "I envy your youth, Kurenai-sensei, at my age I could not hope to keep up such a demanding job."

_You really are well informed…_

_Walked into this, now didn't I? _thought Kurenai with an inward smile. _It's a seed,_ she said to herself. _Make the girl start wondering about me and Naruto. Hinata isn't stupid, she won't know what to look for but she'll hear and see tidbits that will eventually paint a picture. And even if it doesn't, you want to make her suspicious of me and people who would say nice things about her. Make her wonder what it is we're really up to…Very good, Hiashi. But it's a lesson I planned to teach Hinata anyway. You think all us deceivers run about like cockroaches when you shine a light on us. You forget what I already told you; the light doesn't show us the truth, just the pieces it wants us to see._

"Well naturally," laughed the Spider as she looked at Hinata appreciatively. "Once I heard, Hinata would be one of my students I knew I would have to have Naruto. He's kinda cute, don't ya think, Hinata?" The small girl turned a deep shade of red. "I have a love for strange things, Hiashi," Kurenai said in a more solemn voice. She turned her eyes away from the Hyuuga head for a moment to watch his daughter. "Things that no one wants, things they say are broken and things they say will never work… Hiashi, the hour grows late. Your home is lovely but I must be on my way."

Hiashi only nodded before addressing his daughter. "Hinata, see your Jounin-sensei out. After you clear the table you may go to bed. We will not be practicing the Juken tonight." Without another word, Hyuuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga Clan, stood and left the two kunoichi alone, exiting through a door behind where he had sat.

"H-Hai, otou-san," said the girl hurriedly as her father left the room.

"Are you alright, Hianata?" asked Kurenai rising with her student. "I didn't… embarrass you, did I?" The small girl shook her head no. "Then why do you look so troubled?" Hinata looked up at her sensei than back down at the floor. She knew it was disrespectful not to answer a question but she never knew the right words to use. So the small Hyuuga stood there like a mute unable to speak. "Come," said Kurenai with a warm smile. "Perhaps walking will make the words come easier." Nothing changed in Hinata's expression or body but the girl's chest swelled a little with gratitude. As Kurenai had guessed, her father disapproved of her quietness.

The two kunoichi made their way to the compound gates. Hinata walking in silence with her head down but a small smile on her face that grew with each step. Kurenai had been telling her stories about her early days as a shinobi. Kurenai had been 18 when she finally became a Genin, much later than just about anyone Hinata had ever heard of. "Let me tell you, it is creeeeeepy when your sensei keeps finding any excuse to bathe with you. I mean, it's one thing when you're 11 or 12. It's kinda ok then. But at 18?!"Kurenai shook her head while a silent Hinata giggled. "So one day I got fed up with it and just told my sensei that I was a grown woman and could bathe on my own. Next thing I know I'm off the team and getting assigned solo missions. I asked our handler "What gives?" and he says "Your sensei doesn't feel comfortable around you anymore." It took everything I had not to laugh." The Jounin looked down at Hinata raising a finger as if to emphasize her next point. "Never underestimate just how entitled some people can get or how quick they'll try to pin their issues on you, Hinata. Ah, here we are."

The pair was standing in front of the compound gates, where a Branch member greeted them. It was then the small Hyuuga spoke. "K-Kurenai sensei," she said softly. The Jounin turned her kind eyes on her student. "Th-th-thank you," she finally managed. With a soft smile Kurenai knelt and hugged Hinata. The girl began to feel so much emotion building inside her that tears came to her eyes. Kurenai wiped away at them while the Branch member deliberately diverted his gaze.

"You're going to be an amazing kunoichi, Hinata," whispered Konoha's Spider. The woman placed a small kiss on the girl's forehead before rising again. "And you'll bring more honor to the Hyuuga name than you can imagine. Just remember your father isn't cruel. He's a man bound by tradition. But his way, isn't the only way. Tomorrow at 0700, Hinata. Don't forget." And with that, Kurenai left her student alone. It wasn't until Hinata reached the household that she realized her sensei had never said where they would meet the following day.

* * *

"So, tell me about your new sensei," asked a cheerful looking teenage girl with her hair in a net. Naruto sat on the other side of a small ramen stand with the name Ichiraku over it. The small boy swallowed enough ramen in one gulp that it would have put grown a man to shame. _He treats every meal like it's his last, _thought Ayame. "Is he really cute?"

"She," corrected Naruto through another inhuman mouthful. Ayame silently wondered where he found the money to eat so much but thought it better not to ask. She'd learned some years ago Naruto was very self conscious about the way he lived. "Her name's Kurenai and she's really nice."

"A girl Jounin, huh?" said Ayame with a small laugh. "That's really weird. I thought all Jounin were these super jacked big dudes." Naruto placed the ramen bowl to his lips, draining it in two quick gulps. Ayame suppressed a giggle at the sight. Some of the other patrons had thought it gross but she had always thought of it as just one of those things that made the boy adorable. "I really didn't think a girl would want to do that anyway. I mean, how's she ever gonna get a family going if she's off fighting all the time?"

Naruto scowled at his nee-chan. "Nee-chan, you're really smart but you say a lot of dumb things sometimes. Some of the best shinobi out there are women," the boy said with an air of authority before starting a second bowl of ramen.

"Oh, yeah? Name one." Ayame didn't bother trying to hide her giggle this time as Naruto coughed noodles and looked flustered.

"Um…" he finally managed to stammer. _Oh, Naruto,_ thought Aayame smiling affectionately at the small boy,_ you've never been any good at coming up with excuses on the fly. _"There's plenty," finished Naruto somewhat hotly.

"Of course," said a feminine voice behind him. "There's Tsunade the Sannin. Kushina of the Swirls…Perhaps we should have you brush up on your history, Naruto." The Genin turned in his seat to see his sensei behind him with an amused look on her face. _How long has she been there? _wondered Ayame surprised the woman had approached entirely unseen. "It's important to know people, Naruto. You never know when you'll need that kind of knowledge."

"Kurenai-sensei!" Naruto said jumping off his seat and running the few steps it took to be directly in front of his new sensei. Taking her hand he turned back to Ayame with an ear to ear grin on his face. "Ayame this is Kurenai-sensei. Kurenai-sensei this is Ayame, my Nee-chan!"

"Very pleased to meet you," said the Jounin with a polite nod of her head.

_Wow, she's beautiful, _thought Ayame who'd expected someone very different. _Girl like that could get any guy she wants. What's she doing playing ninja? If I had that kinda body I'd be living it up at a resort somewhere with a husband who had butlers for his butlers._

"Come sit, Kurenai-sensei!" Naruto said urgently tugging his sensei closer towards the stand. Smiling, Kurenai relented and took a seat beside him. "Nee-chan, get Kurenai-sensei the Uzumaki Special!"

"One Uzumaki Special coming up!" the teen began what looked like to Kurenai preparing any other bowl of ramen. The Jounin had honestly never really tried what Naruto considered the greatest thing in existence. Even in her pre ninja years just about anything else seemed a better idea than ramen. And a lot easier to digest._Well… my sodium levels are bit below average anyway,_ she thought as Ayame placed the bowl in front of her. "Itadakimasu!"Ayame said cheerfully before turning her back to the pair. "What will you be having to drink, Ms?" she called over her shoulder.

"I don't suppose you have any sake or spirits?" asked Kurenai eyeing her meal. _Ok, forget the sodium,_ the Jounin said to herself._ This… actually doesn't look half bad._ "Oh and, Naruto, you should never drink… alone and unsupervised." She finished with a wink. The small Genin laughed and Ayame shook her head.

"You're in luck, Ms Kurenai." Ayame said as she turned to face the pair. Holding a small bottle of sake she poured first into a tiny cup beside Kurenai's bowl… and then into a second cup by Naruto's. The Genin looked at her confused. "Drink up, Naru-kun." There was a devilish glint in the teenager's eyes. "You're practically a man now. You gotta be able to drink like one." Catching the glint in Ayame's eyes, Kurenai said nothing, choosing instead to sip her drink. Naruto grinned took hold of the small cup and drained it in one swallow. Almost immediately he began to cough.

"Hahahaha! Awwww… little Naru-kun can't hold his alcohol!" Naruto gave Ayame a look of complete and utter resentment. "Oh don't look at me like that. It's a joke. You do them nine times a day." Naruto glared at her for a moment more before shrugging. His nee-chan had a point. "That's twice I got ya!" she said triumphantly.

"This doesn't count," Naruto informed a laughing and giggling Ayame. "You gotta actually trick the person for it to be a real prank."

"It counts," Ayame disagreed still giggling. The teen turned to put the sake bottle away leaving the sensei to talk with her student.

"So why'd you wanna talk to me, Kurenai-sensei?" asked Naruto. Kurenai looked down at the boy while she chewed on a piece of pork. He was looking up at her, his eyes wide unsure of what was expected of him. After a brief pause, the Spider turned her gaze back to her meal. _Like staring into pools of water,_ she thought.

"Naruto," Kurenai began carefully choosing her words. "Have you ever… spoken to your tenant?" Naruto looked away from his sensei. "Don't be ashamed, Naruto. Our families- what we're born with- that doesn't define us. And it doesn't justify how others treat us."

"I'm not ashamed, Kurenai-sensei." The small Genin looked up at the Spider. Determination drowned out the pain on his face. Looking down into those pools of blue, Kurenai couldn't help but be impressed by the boy. _You'll make a fine leader someday, Uzumaki Naruto. Just like your father._ "I know what I am. Uzumaki Naruto. The next Hokage!" True to his style, the boy gave Kurenai a grin that held no doubt, only confidence. _You have resolve,_ thought Kurenai smiling down at the boy. _More than most people I've met. Now to get the pesky little detail of developing all those skills needed to make that resolve reality._

"You're a dreamer, Naruto," laughed the Jounin. "The world is cruelest to its dreamers. Especially when they're young. It'll pit you against friends and loved ones."

"My dream won't be true if my friends aren't there with me." This drew another laugh from his sensei.

"Good answer, Naruto! Good answer!" she said. The boy could only smile. The two talked over their bowls of ramen late into the night. Naruto related stories about what he would do as Hokage, his plan to rebuild the orphanage (_That still hurts you, doesn't it?_), his plan to make it so every child would have a household and parents, mostly he just talked about how much better everything would be and how happy he would make everyone. Kurenai smiled and nodded at all the right spots. Pausing to ask questions of how he would do it, what his full plan was. Finally their meal was over, the small boy paid ("No way, Kurenai-sensei! It's my treat!") and the two set off towards the child's apartment.

"Naruto, you live here?" Kurenai asked looking around a familiar neighborhood. _I used to work that corner,_ thought the Jounin.

"Yeah," replied the boy defensively.

"Is that liquor store ,'Mnemos', still open? The woman who runs it owes me a bottle of brandy." Naruto jumped at the opportunity to be helpful. "Oh! Settle down!" laughed Kurenai. "She's probably forgotten by now. C'mon it's getting late and you need to get home."

"I could get that bottle for you…" Naruto said slyly. Her curiosity peaked, the Jounin asked how. He was after all very much a minor and Mnemos was not a woman Kurenai remembered being willing to overlook such rules. In fact she'd treated Kurenai to more than a couple lessons about "selling herself" and how disgraceful it was. _That's why we fell out with each other,_ remembered the Jounin as she watched an excited Naruto giggle mischievously. "Mnemos wouldn't know it was gone. Not until she did an inventory anyway."

Now she was really intrigued. "Well then," Konoha's Spider said with a smile that matched Naruto's. "Show me what you can do." With a nod the boy ran off taking a sharp turn at a corner that led around the block Kurenai knew Mnemos' store was located. "He'll probably try to sneak in through the back. Seems the simplest course of action- huh?" Loud screaming could be heard behind the Kunoichi. As she turned to look, she saw a short red haired girl turn the corner, wink at her, than pop out of existence. "So he used a clone to create a diversion and placed it under a henge so it wouldn't be recognized as his."

"Hey!" yelled a woman turning the same corner the henge'd Naruto clone had. "Come here, you little bitch! Gimme back my key!" the woman stopped trying to catch her breath. Her eyes darted around the street looking for a sign of the girl she'd been chasing. Instead of the 'little bitch' she saw a glint on the side of the road and Kurenai standing on the sidewalk looking somewhat bewildered. "There it is!" The woman dove over the glint she'd seen. With a cry of triumph she held up a small yellow key as if it were an artifact out of antiquity. "Stupid bitch musta dropped it. Huh? Kurenai? That you?" She was now looking at Kurenai intently. A broad smile appeared across her face. "It is you! How you been, girl?"

Kurenai smiled politely. "Mnemos, long time no see. Still chasing street rats, I see."

"Yeah. You see where this one went?" asked Mnemos still breathing heavily but seemingly determined to find the girl who'd stolen her key.

"Yeah," lied Kurenai though there wasn't a hint of it anywhere on her face. "She bumped into me and kept running that way. Hey Mnemos, you see a short kid maybe 5 feet tall, blond hair running around. I'm his Jounin-sensei and he's late."

"You-You're a Jounin, Kurenai," Mnemos said in awe. A smile broke across her face as she rushed to embrace the red-eyed beauty. "Kurenai, I'm so happy you're finally out of that life." Mnemos seemed genuinely overjoyed. _Guess in her own creepy condescending way she really cared about me. That or she's just happy to have another 'victim of the sex trade' reaffirm her beliefs. _"I always knew you were so much better than those kinds of women. You just didn't belong there." _There's that question answered. Where ever you're at Naruto, make it quick._

"Kurenai-sensei!"_Speak of the devil. _Naruto was running up to her a great big smile on his face.

"Where have you been?" Kurenai said sharply. The boy looked up at her confused for a moment until he saw Mnemos standing there.

"G-gomen nasai, Kurenai-sensei," the boy said hurriedly. "I-I-I-"

"We'll talk about it later," Kurenai said, the fake anger still in her voice. "Your teammates are already waiting on us. It was good seeing you again, Mnemos," added the Jounin as she pushed Naruto towards his home.

"Yeah, good seeing you too. Good luck with that one." It wasn't until they were past the corner and Naruto's apartment was within view that Konoha's number one hyperactive prankster burst out into a fit of laughter. Kurenai, appreciating his restraint, allowed the boy his moment of glory.

"See?" he said handing over the stolen goods. The excitement going through him had Naruto jumping up and down as if he were a boy half his age. The Jounin could only smile at him. "She didn't suspect a thing. I use a different henge each time to make sure no one ever catches on. Today I picked a red head but yesterday it was a brunette with short hair. I'm really careful, Kurenai-sensei."

"Hai," said the boy's sensei, knowing he wanted praise recognizing how clever he was. "It's important for a ninja to hide their true face during missions. I'm glad you've been able to pick up on that so early. But how did you get into her storeroom if your bunshin had the real key?" Having used similar tricks herself, Kurenai could guess at the answer. Still, it was obvious the boy wanted to tell her. Iruka had been a good sensei but the man never appreciated the boy's mischievous nature. As his sensei, the Jounin would likely be treated to half a million stories about how the boy managed to cause the good natured mayhem he was known for.

"Hehehe." Naruto thumbed his nose. Grinning he held out his hand. In his palm there was a key exactly like the one Mnemos had picked up on the side of the street. Except when Naruto threw this one against the ground it disappeared in a puff of smoke. "I used the kage bunshin jutsu to make a copy of the key and nothing else."

"Like how clones appear with hollow versions of whatever gear you had," finished Kurenai, filling in the blanks. "Useless in a normal fight because of how brittle they are. But they'd work just fine for a key. Well done, Naruto. That's thinking like a ninja." The boy nodded, elated to have done something like a ninja. "What else have you noticed about your clones?"

"Eh?" he asked coming down from his high.

"Your clones," said Kurenai watching the exaggerated expression on Naruto's face. "You made a copy of the key without ever looking at it."

"Eh?" asked Naruto more perplexed than before. "I did see the key."

"Your _clone_ saw the key," corrected the Jounin amused by the Genin's confusion. _You never think about the things you do, do you? You just do them. Maybe some of Shino's foresight will rub off on you._ "You never held it Naruto. When we use our chakra to create clones whether they be shadow, rock or any other material handy, we create reflections of ourselves," she explained to the Genin. "When that reflection's time expires it comes back to us. But it isn't a normal reflection. Not like one you would see in a mirror. It has a mind, our mind, and sees and acts as we would."

"Sooo…" Naruto said slowly trying to articulate a thought that wouldn't be molded into words. It was so much easier to just show people. "Their eyes are my eyes?" he said somewhat hesitantly. He knew that wasn't what he meant but it was as close as he could get to it. Thoughts and words just never mixed right.

"And because they're your eyes those things they saw come back to you once the bunshin disappears." Naruto looked up at the beaming Jounin. "I'm happy you're using your jutsu so well. It'll be perfect for reconnaissance missions. Have a good night, Naruto. Tomorrow at 0700, don't forget. Oh!" Kurenai reached into her pocket and withdrew a small phone. "Give this to Hinata when you see her. Until tomorrow, Naruto."

"Kurenai-sensei, why do you-" Naruto started but never finished. Like she had never been there, Konoha's Spider was nowhere to be seen. "That's weird. And I forgot to ask her where we were meeting!" The boy cursed himself as he made his way up the steps to the condemned building he'd set up his apartment in. "You're such a dobe," he said to himself. "How could you forget something like that? Maybe Shino or Hinata knows… Too bad I don't know their numbers and this is Hinata's phone." With a sigh of defeat, the Genin turned to his apartment, ready to open the door when the phone rang. _Better answer it,_ he decided after pausing a moment.

"Hello?" said Naruto.

"You are not Hinata," said the voice on the other side of the phone.

"Shino?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What d'you want?"

"Did Kurenai-sensei tell you where we were supposed to meet her tomorrow?" asked the bug user as if his teammate hadn't even spoken.

"No…" answered Naruto hesitantly. "I forgot to ask her," he informed his teammate.

"None of us did." _Yeah, so I'm not the only one!_ thought Naruto relieved others had messed up with him. "And I suppose it was Kurenai-sensei who gave you Hinata's phone."

"Uh, yeah. She said I oughtta give it back to her when I see her." Whatever the Aburame was getting at he needed to get there quickly. Naruto was only a few moments away from throwing off his jacket, plopping down on the couch and sleeping.

"As I suspected. Naruto," Shino's impassive voice said over the phone. "I believe Kurenai-sensei is testing us. She failed to inform any of us where she wished us to meet her and made it so at least one of us would not be reachable."

"Don't the Hyuuga's have a phone?" asked Naruto doubting Shino's conclusion. "And why would Kurenai-sensei do something like that?"

"Because she said she would," Shino said as if he were relating something obvious and someone had doubted that there were trees in Konoha. "Do you not remember her informing us she planned to test our competence as ninja throughout the following week?"

"Yeah…" answered the blond Genin slowly.

"She has denied us important information and means of communicating with each other. She has gone so far as to isolate us so that we never had the opportunity to speak with each other after meeting her. What's more Kurenai-sensei has stolen the phone of Hinata, knowing she would not be able to call from her home phone and that she would be too frightened of her father's disapproval to attempt to break out of her room and meet with us." All this Shino said in his calm, reasonable voice. A voice that sounded anything but to Naruto. The blond Genin snorted loudly over the phone.

"You watch too much tv, Shino," he said dismissively. "That's stupid. Hey, man, just go back to sleep."

"I will not," said Shino, for once irritation showing in his voice. "I have been attempting to contact Hinata for nearly 4 hours now. Not once did Kurenai-sensei respond to my calls despite each text message being marked 'Important- I need to talk to you' and me leaving a voice mail every 5 minutes. Kurenai-sensei has something planned. She's isolating us, giving us incomplete information and leaving us to fend for ourselves. She wants to see how we operate and I for one do not intend to be caught off guard." The Aburame youth finished somewhat hotly.

"Ok, ok, calm down," said an amused Naruto. _So that's what he sounds like mad,_ the blond Genin thought a smile across his face. "So what do you want to do? Break into the Hyuuga compound, sneak past the Hyuugas and get Hinata?"

"No," said Shino his voice once again calm. "I want you to."

* * *

The Aburame and Uzumaki stood a few hundred yards from the Hyuuga compound, each growing increasingly annoyed with the other. Shino did not like Naruto's constant complaining or how he questioned every one of the bug user's plans. Naruto for his part was sick of being spoken down to by his teammate who'd already dragged him across the village on what was little more than a hunch of his. The two had successfully developed a mutual understanding where neither would speak to the other. In place of speech they'd substituted basic hand signs and the occasional grunt.

"So what's the plan," Naruto asked deciding he might as well be civil. The blond Genin looked at his teammate expectantly, his arms folded across his chest. "I've been inside the compound before but I got no idea where Hinata's room even is. I can get past locks easy enough but all that place has is guards and seals. I walk into the wrong place I might wake up a whole lotta limbs short. And if they catch me trying to get to Hinata's room in the middle of the night they'll kill me on sight."

Shino peered at the sky over the Hyuuga home through his sunglasses._ Who the fuck wears sunglasses at night? _wondered Naruto. "I am aware of that, Naruto. That is why I have asked one of my tenants to scope out the area." _Tenants? What's he talking about._ "Ah, here she comes right now." Naruto looked but saw nothing. The sky was empty except for a butterfly that was flying towards them. "What did you find?" Shino asked his mysterious companion. That's when Naruto noticed the butterfly was moving in odd patters over their heads. _No way! Is he really talking to that bug?! _"And you are certain it was her? Very well. Naruto," the blond looked at his teammate, amazement still all over his face. "Hinata is on the second story by the North Wing of the compound. There are no trees there or other ways of climbing up to it. There's only-"

"Eight Hyuugas watching that side of the house," Naruto finished for his teammate. "Like I said, I been inside before. The oranges they grow here, best in Konoha," explained the blond with a grin. Shino nodded a small smile on his face. "I'll be back in a second. If I die, avenge death." It was amazing how fast Naruto could move without making a sound. The Aburame had seen much faster ninja, his mother for example, but he'd only seen a few who could move like that without making any kind of noise. In half a moment Naruto was at the Hyuuga walls and in the other he was over it.

_Ok,_ the small Genin said to himself. _North side, second story._ Forming the hand seal for the ram, 2 clones appeared at his side. Knowing their jobs each dashed in a different direction. One North, one south while Naruto backed up against the wall, hiding himself from view. _Now to wait._ Long minutes passed before Naruto's mind was flushed with images of Hyuugas spotting him by the orange trees. He saw himself running towards a large oak tree before colliding with the ground as three men yelled for him to stop. _They're getting better at spotting me,_ thought the boy as he dashed off to where he now knew Hyuugas were not. He'd often found the shortest way between two points was the one most well guarded. If you wanted to get into someplace without getting caught, you had to take all the detours.

As the clone headed North must have learned. Once again new images rushed into the boy's mind. Naruto saw four Hyuuga men chasing him through the many camellia bushes around the compound. He had jumped into a particularly large bush, placed his hands together and ceased to exist. _Perfect!_ thought Naruto as, he made his way around. _They'll wake up everybody and move them to east side of the compound looking for me. Won't be half as many I need to avoid now._ Smiling to himself, the Genin arrived underneath the window Shino had claimed would be Hinata's. With a small running start, Naruto jumped landing softly through the open window

And right in front of a Hinata in nothing but a pair of pink panties. For what was only half a second the two stared each other frozen. Hinata unable to formulate a thought and Naruto suddenly realizing Hinata was very much a girl. Or rather, he was realizing how much less of a girl she was than the others they'd graduated with. To make matters worse, the blood quickly rushing away from his head and towards other parts of him threatened to reveal how much of a boy he was.* But before either Genin could say a word, Naruto felt an incredible pain in his back. Crumbling to the floor he let out a yell. It felt as if his insides had literally burst.

"Ah!" he groaned.

"Found him," said a stern voice into a headset. A woman wearing a headband and dressed in a long kimono was standing over him. "He's in Hinata-sama's room. Fucking creep," said the woman before kicking him. "Are you alright, Hinata-sama?"

"Please don't hurt him," said Hinata rushing to the boy's side as if to shield him with her almost nude body. The pleading look on her face must have touched a few of the woman's heart strings because she sighed and stepped away from the boy. "I'm sure Naruto-kun didn't mean any harm. He- he just-" but Hinata had no idea why the boy was there. Then she saw her phone fall out his jacket and onto the ground next to the whimpering child. "Naruto-kun, were you- were you trying to- to give me back my phone?"

With a pained expression on his face the small blond nodded. "Kurenai-sensei told me to get it back to you," he said through gritted teeth. An exasperated sigh came from the woman standing a few feet from them.

_Baka!_ thought the woman. _If you wanted to get Hinata-sama her phone you could have given it to one of us branch members. We would have taken it to her. Does this brat even think?_ "Here," she said much more softly than the voice in her head had been. "Excuse me, Hinata-sama, I did not mean to hurt your friend." The older woman touched Naruto's side and immediately he breathed a sigh of relief. "But the alarm was raised and it is my duty to watch over you. You know how your father insists we treat anyone who could be a threat to any Hyuuga."

"I understand, Kogame-san," Hinata replied stroking Naruto's hair. "But Naruto-kun wouldn't hurt anyone. He's too gentle."

"Um… Hinata-sama, you are still nude." The young girl blushed. Whispering a quick 'gomen' she grabbed a gown off of her bed and slid it over her head. "Eyes to yourself or I make it a whole lot worse," the Hyuuga Branch member called Kogame hissed at Naruto who was in position to argue.

* * *

"You know, there were much easier and less dangerous was to go about this, Shino." The Aburame turned to see his sensei standing behind him. The Juonin's face for the first time since their meeting was as impassive as his own. "Why did you make Naruto put himself at such risk when you could have easily just knocked on the door and told them who the phone belonged to?"

Shino adjusted his glasses. "I wanted to see what he was capable of. In class he was looked down upon and mocked for his average intelligence and general naivety," the genin explained.

"And your assessment?" asked Kurenai fixing her student with a hard look.

"He is very adept at infiltration. He made a few blunders, most notably letting any of his clones be seen. But he reached Hinata's room in under 10 minutes. All without making a sound or the real him being discovered. That is far above what most Genin our age are capable of. Unfortunately," Shino sighed. "he is easily manipulated. Despite his skills he does not think like a ninja. He does not look for ulterior motives. He is too trusting."

"He is a caring boy with a kind heart," returned Kurenai.

"Exactly," said Shino with a shrug. The Jounin looked at him before letting out a deep sigh.

"I understand why you did what you did," she said. "But you are not Naruto's sensei, nor is he a pawn for you to move about a chess board. He is your comrade."

"Kurenai-sensei," said Shino placing both hands into his pockets. "We are Shinobi. We aren't pawns on a chess board. Even pawns are fewer and more valuable than us."

"Which is why you must hold comrades close to you." Kurenai placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I guess there are things for me to teach you after all, Shino. Tomorrow at training ground 24. You know the time."

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei." The bug user watched his Jounin as she walked down the empty street. He blinked and she was gone. With a sigh he looked up at the night sky. "No, not like pawns," he said. "We are like stars. Each of us burning brightly, whole worlds turning around us. But we are so many and our uses so few, what difference will any of us make? The sky would be the same sky even if a whole constellation was snuffed out." Alone Shino stood with his thoughts, watching the million dancing lights that painted pictures in the night sky.

* * *

***I'll leave it up to you all to guess how much of a boy Naruto is**

**Like I said I need to work on how I depict stealh and subterfuge. Having been a pretty straightlaced guy this just ins't something I'm very experienced with. If anyone has any suggestions please share. I'd love to have the ninjas in this story do ninja things like be covert and kill pirates.**


	4. Sensei, you must stop doing this

**This is just a quick chapter I wanted to get out. I suppose its filler but I'd like a couple chapters to be more upbeat. There will be plenty of time for them to suffer later.**

* * *

To say Team 8 was talkative when they arrived at training ground 24 would not do justice to the scene any on looker would have observed if they had been standing there when all three members of the rookie Jounin's team had gathered. Their night had been an eventful one and naturally, being only just shy of their teen years, the three rookie Genin wanted to go over every minute detail. The minute detail Uzumaki Naruto, the most hyperactive of three, wished to obsess over was how he managed to get past the most secure compound in Konoha, second only to the ANBU facility. This had become his latest point of pride and he insisted on his teammates basking in his glory.

"You shoulda seen me, Hinata," Naruto said to the quiet Hyuuga. The girl was smiling as she looked at her feet. Eye contact had always been difficult for her. "I was super quiet," the girl's crush continued. "Cats wish they had feet like mine. I got my clones to distract them," Naruto began to skirt around the small group as if reenacting his late night infiltration of the Hyuuga compound. "so I could get around without anyone noticing me."

"That-that was really clever, Naruto-kun," whispered Hinata who couldn't keep the smile or blush off her face. She could never help smiling when Naruto was happy.

"As I told you before, that was a foolish thing to do." Aburame Shino did not share his teammate's rose tinted version of the previous night. He'd thought of several instances where Naruto had blundered and was determined that each one receive as much if not more consideration than the blond Genin's outbursts. "By allowing your clones to be seen, you alerted the whole of the Hyuuga Clan that there was an intruder on the premises. It is obvious that the Hyuuga would have elite guards waiting by any place of value in case such an alarm was tripped. The rooms where Hyuuga Hiashi's daughters slept would, and, I would like to stress _were,_ given higher priority than other rooms. You botched the mission from the get go."

Naruto was not a Genin of much patience nor was he one that enjoyed being undermined as often as Shino seemed to want to today. "Look, Shino," began the jinchuuriki. "I've been there before and there's no fucking way you can get more than 10 feet into the place without being spotted. I dunno how they do it, but I swear they can see through rock. I had to give them something to focus on so I could get by. Besides, the job wasn't to get in undetected. It was to get Hinata her phone which I fucking did, no thanks to you." The small blond yawned as he pointed at the taller boy. "You were sitting back there not doing a damn thing while I was putting my ass on the line. Besides," said Naruto remembering something. "It was your stupid idea in the first place!"

Even without her Byakugan it was plain to Hinata that Shino was rolling his eyes at their teammate. Had Naruto seen the Aburame's display of annoyance it would have meant at least another hour of this. "Shino," said the Hyuuga so softly had they all not been within a few feet of each other she would have gone unheard. "It was wrong to send Naruto into my family's compound like that. He-He could've been really hurt." Here Naruto stuck his tongue out at his trench coat wearing teammate. "Naruto, it was- it was- you- you shouldn't ever break into someone's home like that," she finished finally. Hinata blushed deeply entirely avoiding the gaze of her blond teammate.

"Gomen," apologized Naruto in an uncharacteristically meek voice. For once he seemed as nervous as the blue haired girl sitting a few feet away. "You- you were really pretty, 'Nata-chan," he said in what must have been meant as a way to put last night's fiasco behind them. But as we know intent is not magic so all the Uzumaki's words did was make the girl blush deeper, let out a small "meep!" and cause himself to want to beat his head against a wall until whatever brain cell had thought that was the best thing to say ceased to exist. " 'Nata, I'm really sorry. I really didn't wanna see any of that." _Every last one of you is fired,_ decided Naruto completely shocked at his brain's inability to come up with something that wouldn't make the situation worse. "Th-that's not what I meant, Hinata!"

_So this is why Sakura is always hitting him,_ observed Shino as Naruto dug from Konoha to every one of the Elemental Nations. While he did not know the specifics, the Aburame could guess at what happened. Naruto had come upon Hinata while she was in a compromising position and was now failing at making amends for it. _He has less tact than an exploding kunai. _A very different thought came to Shino as he checked his watch. "Kurenai-sensei is late," he said drawing the attention of his teammate (both eager to focus on anything else). "It is almost a quarter pass seven."

"You sure she said Training Ground 24?" asked Naruto his cheeks returning to a more normal color.

"Completely," Shino replied curtly. The bug user looked around the empty training ground searching for some sign of their Jounin-sensei. "Strange," he said slowly.

"Maybe-Maybe Kurenai-sensei- maybe she's running late," the young Hyuuga suggested as she stood.

"Yeah," agreed Naruto as he scratched the back of his head. "She was hella late yesterday too."

"That is a possibility…" It was as the Aburame spoke that the three Genin heard a loud scream coming from the tree line. "What was that?" Another loud scream and all of Team 8 were on their feet. "It's coming from there! Hinata, use your byakugan, see if you can see what's going on." The girl put her two forefingers together and activated the bloodline that had lead to her family's unquestioned dominance in taijutsu.

"Huh?" said a confused Naruto as he turned to look at his teammate. "Wo-ah!" he gasped as the blood vessels around her eyes bulged and what little color was in them left. "H-Hinata?"

The world through the Byakugan was a strange one. If Hinata were asked to describe it she would say it was as if one were looking down at a cube made of thousands of glass panes each a different shade of grey. If you focused intently on a particular shade you would see that pane clearly and no others. But this, she would admit, didn't do justice to the unique perspective her clan's bloodline gave her. The Byakugan didn't allow one to see through things so much as it allowed one to see… around them? It was something you had to experience and experience often to understand. Young Hyuugas new to using the Clan's Kekkei Genkai often complained of severe headaches, a side affect far less horrifying than the madness that had befallen the few thieves clever enough to incapacitate a Hyuuga long enough for an eye transplant.

"There!" said the young Hyuuga girl to her teammates. Her voice seemed strained. "A-A massive spider. It has a woman. She-she isn't moving."

"We have to help her!" Naruto had drawn a kunai and was about to rush the tree line when Shino stepped in front of him. "Move!" ordered Naruto in voice that was half a growl.

"Wait!" hissed the Aburame through gritted teeth. He too had drawn his weapons, a pair of kanas whose metal seemed decorated with hundreds of small veins.

"She needs help!" Naruto seemed to be becoming more animalistic by the moment. Shino couldn't help but notice that his whiskers became more pronounced and that his canines seemed to be growing. _What is this?_ He asked forgetting their situation for a moment. _And what's this that I'm feeling? Like I'm standing at the foot of a mountain that stretches off in all directions without limit. _Naruto's voice snapped him back to his senses. "There's no time for your bullshit, Shino!"

"Running off without knowing what we're getting into is a death sentence. Hinata," the big user turned back to his teammate, her Byakugan still active. "What else do you see?"

"It-it's carried her off," Hinata replied as she pushed more chakra into her eyes, straining her vision for some sign of the massive arachnid. "I've lost it," she said releasing her doujutsu and turning to her teammates. "It moved so fast." The girl swallowed. _You're useless,_ she told herself, not meeting either boy's eyes. "I-I'm-I'm sorry."

Naruto's canines shrunk and his expression soften. He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You're fine Hinata." The young Hyuuga looked up to see the jinchuuriki's sapphire eyes. "C'mon. Team 8 has a job to do," he said giving her one of his trademark grins. _You're so strong, Naruto,_ thought Hinata taking comfort in the boy's smile.

"Hinata," Shino's voice was what it always was when he was in a strange or unfamiliar situation, impassive. "Can you take us to where you saw the woman being attacked? Perhaps we can still track the creature to its layer. Arachnids of that size give up the potency of their smaller cousins' venom so there is a good chance we can still save her. It will be difficult, however. Because they require much larger meals to sustain their mass they are ambush predators and scavengers. Its layer will be well hidden. Do either of you have signal tags?"

"H-hai!" said Hinata reaching into her jacket. "Otou-san insists we carry these."

"Now can get moving?" asked an irritated Naruto. Shino looked at and did something rare for an Aburame. The trench coat wearing Genin smiled. Without another word Team 8 took off at a full sprint toward the tree line, Shino sharing his thoughts as they did so. They would search the scene for clues, hints as to the spider's movement and approach with extreme caution. Their odds in a straight fight were slim but if he could identify what type of spider this was he could devise a strategy for bringing it down. Regardless of how they ended up approaching it, Hinata would send a distress flare to alert nearby Shinobi Grounds Watch to their location. "Yeah," said Naruto as he climbed a tree to give himself a better vantage point. "That spider's gonna need all the help it can get when I get my hands on it."

Needless to say neither member of Team 8 shared the blond Genin's confidence. Still, it was reassuring that there was at least one of them who wasn't in any danger of balking or freezing up during their makeshift operation. "There!" Naruto shouted. The other two looked up from their position to see Naruto jumping down to their level. "It's not swinging through trees," he informed them. "It's jumping, I think. You can see how it's jacked up all the bushes and branches it's landing on."

"Jumping spiders rely heavily on their vision to the detriment of their other senses. Naruto…" But Shino didn't need to finish his sentence. His blond teammate knew what to do.

* * *

Deep inside the large woods that lay just outside the many training grounds of The Village Hidden in the Leaves, away from tunnels and any bodies of water, a behemoth of a spider inspected the figure of a woman tightly wound in its silk. Clicking its mouth together it retreated to a remote part of its web high above the ground. It seemed to be growing restless as its jittering movements would indicate. There were very few times in its memory where it willingly ventured so far from its home but this had been extenuating circumstances. Spiders, like snakes, were forever weary of all creatures (each other most of all) since they understood anything could be predator or prey. Of course that did not mean they were unable to step outside their comfort zones.

The woman, her long black hair reaching for the ground that was so very many feet away, was proof of that. Like with anything it was just a question of playing to instincts, needs and wants. Once you understood those three keys in anything be it man, beast or monstrously large spider, you could predict how they would behave. Every action a person took boiled down to an intersection of the three. And more than anything, this spider needed to get on with this. The woman had only been hung up for a few moments, not even an hour or half of one but by the massive spider's behavior you would guess it had been closer to a full day.

It was as its impatience was mounting that the high pitched yell of a girl could be heard. Somewhat confused the spider searched the surface of the forest for whatever had caused this disturbance in its normally still woods. Clicking its mouth it moved further up its web, wary of whatever might be approaching, when something, or several somethings, kicked it clean off its web. The monstrous spider flipped in the hair and caught itself on a pair of trees before it could crash into the ground below. With a terrifying hiss, it looked up to see the three identical blue haired girls that had attacked it jumping down after it. "Hey, ugly!" the girls yelled. "Wanna know what it feels like to get beat by a twelve year old girl?"

Releasing another horrid hiss, the spider hoisted itself up on its four rear legs and aimed its rear at the three girls. A web large enough to cover an elk shot out, catching the three blue haired girls mid fall. They yelled, each pulling against the sticky net they now found themselves trapped in. A futile attempt as the spider well knew. That was spider silk and while it didn't produce the best quality, not even a human claymore would be able to cut through that. Which is why it became so confused when the three girls simply disappeared leaving its web to fall softly onto the ground. And its confusion only grew when those same three girls appeared on the tree two of its legs were perched on. This state of confusion only grew worse when it realized three more had appeared on the other tree it was using for support. Twelve childlike hands reached for the monstrous spider's legs grasping at empty air and the wood they had been resting on as once again the spider jumped.

But it was always the same. It found a place to perch itself and half a dozen of that girl would be there stabbing or pushing at it. Finally the creature dropped to the ground, something it loathed to do, ready to tear however many of this girl there were to shreds. Angrily the spider raised its front legs driving them at the dozen copies of the same girl in front of it. They all scattered around it, slashing with kunai each hoping to do some damage. None did. The spider's exoskeleton was as hard as rock and nothing the girl did pierced more than a millimeter into the Spider's pitch black body. With a hiss eerily similar to a laugh, it swept one massive leg in front of itself catching four of the girls in the chest. In a puff of smoke they disappeared leaving only twenty more of the blights to deal with.

_Wait- TWENTY?!_

Bushes, logs, rocks, all of them became that girl. It didn't matter how many the spider destroyed there were always more and they were getting smarter. At first it had been easy enough to hit them but as the fight drew on the spider was finding it harder and harder to land a clean blow. Being somewhat near the latter half of its life cycle the massive arachnid had seen others like this. The trick was to end the fight as soon as possible before they came up with a strategy that would actually work. There were two reasons that was out of the question. First and foremost that only applied against a finite number of enemies which this was clearly not (if the damned rocks themselves were just more copies of the cursed vertebrate). And secondly the fight had only been going on in earnest for a few minutes.

Another inhuman screech echoed across the still forest as the monstrous spider felt something strike its underside. This had hurt. Where the blows of the girl generally did little more than irritate, the last blow had been in its spinner. The spider might not have been able to see it what had happened but it knew its web was out of commission. For a while at least. The same would not be said for the blue haired girl the spider saw trying to sneak away. Not if the monster caught her. It had several painful plans for her that were going to be realized even if it had to tear up a whole acre of these woods. They would not be. As it began its mad dash, eight or nine of those girls descended on the spider's head. Jerking wildly the arachnid tried to get them away but they had clamped on tight.

"Take that!" the high pitched girls said in unison.

"Uncle! Uncle!" hissed the massive spider. "You damn brats win! Now get off me!"

Naruto's clones did so, dispelling themselves and revealing him, Shino and Hinata standing where the huge crowd of them had been. "Eh?" The blond who was no longer disguised as the blue haired Hyuuga blurted out. "Y-y-you talk?!"

At Naruto's side, Shino sighed. He didn't need to be told any more. He knew exactly what was going on. "Kurenai-sensei, you are going to have to stop doing this," he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Team 8's Jounin-sensei appeared beside the spider a grin across her face.

"Don't worry," she said. "This'll be the last time I trick you all. For training purposes, anyway," Kurenai managed through giggles. "You all work very well as a unit!" she added. The three rookie Genin looked up at her with looks of complete exasperation on their faces. "Oh, chin up! We only have one more training event for the day. A quick debrief on the way back to the training ground and you have the rest of the day off. Thanks for all the help, Kiito!"

"You got a good bunch," hissed the spider. "Later." And it vaulted back into the tree Naruto had worked so hard to knock it off of.

* * *

Kurenai listened intently as Shino explained the plan they had devised. Naruto, because of his amazing stamina and henges would take on the guise of Hinata. Naruto would attack the creature forcing it away from its nest and onto the ground where the real Hinata accompanied by dozens of Naruto's clones would be waiting. Once the creature touched down the Hyuuga would wait for openings and attack before disappearing back into the mayhem the blond's clones would be causing. Shino had known none of their weapons were good enough to cause the think exoskeleton of such a large arachnid any real hurt. Hinata's Juken however would easily be able to reach the delicate insides of the anthropod causing damage to its organs and hopefully driving it away.

"Myself, as you know, Kurenai-sensei," said Shino in his impassive voice. "would free the captive and administer the anti-venom. I lack the durability of Naruto and the power of Hinata so my immediate engagement with the target was not essential. Once you were freed I set off the signal tag and adopted the same disguise as Naruto. Not wanting to give myself away I chose to keep my kanas hidden."

"That was very well executed." Kurenai couldn't help but feel proud of her team. When she first submitted her requests for a team, the Spider had envisioned a tracker team. Naruto's incredible stamina reserves, Hinata's Byakugan and Shino's Aburame Clan techniques would make it impossible for anything to evade them for long. But watching them perform today, even if it was against an opponent only giving it half her strength, the Jounin realized Team 8 could easily be a miniature ANBU hit squad. Not only did they have Naruto's inhuman grit and Hinata's defense- negating Juken, Shino was an amazing poisoner. Sure the boy had told her he only studied venoms so he could develop cures to the many poisonous insect bites there were but the fact that his insects could actually produce the anti-venom or venom at his behest meant the boy had incredible potential as an assassin. And his mode of delivery would be entirely innocuous. He could immobilize a whole ninja village over the course of a few days if he chose to really develop that skill.

And Naruto! The boy had in moments filled the entire forest with clones of himself convincingly disguised as rocks, roots and bushes. Not a single one of his henges would have been recognizable as anything but the foliage one would expect to see in Forests as old as this one by anyone short of a Genjutsu specialist like her. Kurenai couldn't help but marvel at the boy's instincts. He just knew what things were out of place and where things would naturally be. That was something a good number of Chuunin struggled with. Normally it didn't matter because targets never made the connection quick enough but having such a skill developed to the point he had opened up whole new kinds of missions. Long term reconnaissance, high level assassinations, long term infiltration, hell it was one of the chief skills required of Missing-Nin Hunters! And this 12 year old had it down like someone who'd actually been training it for years.

Then there was Hinata. The girl didn't just blend into crowds, she vanished all together. A lifetime of trying to seem smaller than she was, of trying to be ignored, of looking for ways to stay inside those blind spots had made the girl virtually invisible. Yes the clones had all been copies of her but copies or not, Kurenai had actually lost sight of her several times during the fight. That was the last thing you ever wanted to do against a Juken user. When they could literally stop your heart with a single strike, you could not afford that degree of error.

And the real cherry on top of all this was that each child's skills translated perfectly into straight combat.

_Getting ahead of yourself, Kurenai,_ the Jounin told herself._ They're still just Genin with no real world experience. If they were that good already they wouldn't need you._

"Very smart thinking," said the boy's sensei as she walked alongside her three charges. "You've all made me very proud today. So tell me, what did you all learn today?"

"That I oughtta keep my mouth shut and listen to Shino," laughed Naruto. The shortest member of Team 8 had been butting heads with the Aburame for most of the day but he couldn't argue with results. "Shino knows his shit," he said giving his teammate an approving nod.

"Thank you for the praise," replied the group stoic. He smiled at his teammate. "After watching you today, I no longer think your stories of evading ANBU capture are quiet so ludicrous."

"And ya can't forget 'Nata-chan." Naruto gave the girl a look of complete awe. "You're so quiet I had no idea you were that strong. You only hit it once but that spider- it cried like someone had cut off its balls! I'm glad you're on my team, Hinata."

"A-arigatou. It's not- it's just my Clan's jutsus. I-It – It was nothing special, Naruto-kun." Kurenai saw the young girl blushing but also noticed the satisfied smile on her face. In her own way, Hinata enjoyed praise as much as Naruto did. _Soak it up,_ thought Konoha's spider. _You deserve it. It's not like your dad is ever gonna give you any._

"It's wonderful to see you all bonding," Kurenai's voice carried a very obvious level of amusement. "But my question was more directed towards the battle itself and team operations. Can any of you tell me why I chose to not tell you the place we would meet today or why I took Hinata's phone?"

"We have to be able to communicate with each other," answered Shino with a shrug. It was the obvious conclusion and a fundamental lesson. "If we are each doing something different, the group is not as effective and someone might end up out of place."

"Very good." Kurenai moved a branch out of her way and stepped onto Traning Ground 24. She watched the three Genin step onto the field after her and gestured for them to sit once they'd reached a shaded patch of grass. "Be it for missions, debriefings or just about anything we ninja do it's important that no one who should be in the know is outside the loop. But there's more to that lesson."

"Ya gotta watch out for each other." Naruto had his hitae-ate in his hands slowly polishing the metal with a rag he'd withdrawn for his pocket. The blond Genin's voice was uncharacteristically serious. "People are gonna try to fuck you before you even get started. Yesterday it was Hinata. Today it might be me or Shino. We're all each other got so there's no me and you. There's only us." Shino raised a curious eyebrow while the Hyuuga smiled. She stole a look at Naruto before moving her gaze back to the grass they sat on.

"That's a very interesting way to put it, Naruto. Teamwork extends beyond knowing what combinations work well together," The Jounin elaborated. "Ninjas have made their careers around isolating enemy shinobi or trying to sow distrust between them. You cannot always identify it, you can't always stop them. But you can look out for your team and place each other's well being before anything else. What about today?"

" Intelligence," answered Shino. His two teammates turned to look at the stoic. "You chose an enemy who's abilities I would be familiar with so that I- _we-_" the Genin corrected himself. "would be better able to fight it."

"Something you won't have on missions." Konoha's spider looked at her three charges with a level of gravitas that it would have rivaled Hiashi's. "Even something as simple as escorting a merchant to the next village can turn deadly if you don't know the terrain or what to expect. Preparation is more than just something you get drilled into you in school. An enemy who knows what you can do is more dangerous than any building sized spider. So guard your secrets, mask your abilities and never let a ninja fight you more than once."

"Hai!" the three children said together.

* * *

"Hey, Hinata! Wait up!" The Hyuuga girl turned to see her crush running towards her. It was amazing how quickly she could turn from near porcelain white (it was considered a mark of beauty within the Hyuuga and several of the older clans, so to appease her elders Hinata kept it that way) to tomato red. The short blond responsible for this amazing feat stopped a few feet from the now still as a statue girl. "Ya wanna hang out tonight? I'm watching Princess Mononoke at my place!"

_You can do this, Hinata,_ the girl told herself. _Just nod- yes, just like that._ Still blushing to the very tips if her dark blue hair, Hinata nodded slowly. This movement seemed to worry Naruto who took a step forward and placed a hand on her forehead. _Ok, he's touching you. Don't freak out. _However calm this inner voice might be it did not reflect Hinata's actual mood. "I-I-I'm fine, N-N-Naruto-kun. I-I-Is it just the-uh –the-uh t-two of us?"

Naruto frowned, or at least made his equivalent of a frown. It oddly resembled the grimacing of a large jungle cat. "I tried getting Shino but he said he had stuff to do with his mom. Something about getting him started on creating poisons with his bugs." _Oh no!_ thought Hinata desperately. _I have Juken practice tonight. But I already agreed to go with Naruto… Outo-san will be cross…_ The girl had resolved to tell her teammate she wouldn't be able to come after all but then he smiled at her and started talking about how great all the Miyazaki films were and how awesome it would be. Under those ocean blue eyes the Hyuuga's resolve melted. She pushed thoughts of how angry her father will be to the back of her mind. "It's gonna be awesome, 'Nata-chan!" he said and the girl knew she'd feel no regret. "You'll be at my place at 7?"

"Y-y-yes," said Hinata. The two Genin smiled at each other and parted. They would not see each other again until 6:40 that evening when Hinata stepped in front of what looked like an abandoned building. The Hyuuga checked the address again. _Did I copy it down wrong?_ She wondered. This was one of the many manifestations of the girl's fear of failing and disappointing others. While you might see a problem with a quick fix, she saw mounting evidence there was nothing she could do right. "N-N-Naruto-kun!" she called out in a voice she must have thought loud but barely qualified as normal speaking volume. "N-N-Naruto!" Hinata called again starting to worry somewhere there were people staring at her wondering if she was a freak. "N-naruto-kun…" she said again her voice once again its normal whisper.

It was as the girl was beginning to despair that Naruto poked his head out of his window. The small blond was almost as anxious as the Hyuuga. He had once in his whole life had guests over (His former sensei, Iruka, had wanted to see how the boy lived.) and he had not had to entertain them. So at just short of a quarter until 7 he was peering down at the dark street, looking for the girl who'd agreed to watch movies with him. Naruto didn't entirely expect to see her (much less so soon) but he needed something to occupy the time and checking the window every five minutes seemed as good a time occupier as any. "Hinata?" he called out to the blue haired girl waiting in the street.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata replied looking up. The two preteens looked at each for a moment neither entirely convinced this was really happening. Hinata was unable to truly accept that she would soon be in the apartment (and possibly snuggling) against her long time crush. Naruto was just flabbergasted anyone would actually show up to his place. The Genin couldn't count how often he'd been blown off but here was one of the nicest girls he knew at his doorstep. It was Hinata who recovered first. "N-Naruto! May- May I come in?" she said in a voice she hoped was loud enough for him to hear. It was, if the barely five foot tall blond haired boy who'd leapt out of his window and onto the street next to her was any indication.

"Glad ya made it!" said Naruto as he took Hinata by the hand. "Come on! I got everything set up for us!"

* * *

**I suppose this is the first chapter that's really NaruHina. I'm trying to stay away from the idea that Naruto loves Hinata because she pays attention to him (kinda like she's a consolation prize) and that Naruto is everything Hinata ever wanted so... I dunno. I might make this first date a lot less idyllic and a bit more illusion shattering. Anyway, later. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.**


	5. Pain

**Trigger warning for rape, sexual abuse of minors and physical abuse of minors. I apologize if any of this trivializes rape or sexual abuse. I don't pray but I wish the best for anyone who's survived abuse of any kind. You deserve to be happy and live your life without that fear,**

**This chapter gets darker towards the end.**

* * *

"So what'd ya think?" asked Naruto looking at Hinata anxiously. He'd noticed tears forming in her eyes more than once so he had a pretty good idea. Still, he never got a chance to talk to people about movies. At least not anyone who liked them the way he did. Princess Mononoke was special to him. All of Miyazaki's films were but this one touched a part of his heart, letting him glimpse at secrets and things he could never articulate. Every time he watched he felt closer to one of those far away secrets but he only ever saw shadows of them. "Didja like it?"

Hinata wiped at her eyes. "That was beautiful, Naruto but…" the Hyuuga struggled with the right words. "I-I- I don't understand why it had to end that way. Th-they love each other. So-so why-why did they just part? Why did she walk away from him?"

"She didn't," answered Naruto looking wistfully at the girl on the other side of his couch. "They never really left each other. You can't leave someone when you carry them in your heart." The blond smiled at the Hyuuga. "When you love someone they become a part of you. Even if that love only lasts a summer, they stay with you. "

"That's… beautiful, Naruto," the Hyuuga whispered. Her eyes wide, she watched her teammate scratch the back of his head and laugh awkwardly. "I suppose I'll try to see it that way too…"

"There's more to it than that," the Jinchuuriki continued. "They love each other, yeah, but each has needs outside of the other. He can't shake his love for humanity or his need to see everyone win. She'll always remember the greed of humanity and how we hurt her family. Love is a part of them but it isn't the only part or the greatest." Naruto turned his head back to his television. "It's funny. All those things that make us fall in love, also keep us apart."

"That's why we have to trust each other." Hinata's voice was softer than a psalm. She was looking at her teammate with an almost pained look on her face. "It-it's like you said today, Naruto-kun. We-we have to put each other first."Konoha'sjinchuuriki looked at its sun. The small Genin reached across the couch and squeezed her hand.

"I'm happy to have a friend like you, 'Nata-chan," he said in a whisper not far from hers. "Everyone calls me baka when I try to say things like that."

The thought of Naruto being called idiot seemed to offend some righteous part of the young kunoichi. "You are not a baka!" she said in the most forceful voice she could manage. Her blond teammate watched her for a moment. Then he burst into his typical laughter confusing the young girl whose hand he held. "Wh-what's so funny?" Hinata asked timidly.

Naruto waved his free hand as he shook his head. "I just pictured 'Nata-chan as my Onee-san," _Oneesan? _ thought Hinata more confused than before. "You would beat up all the people who called me baka with your juken!" Here the hyperactive ninja jumped to his feet and began mimicking Hinata's fighting style. He jabbed at invisible foes and then gave them voice as he felled them with terrible blows. Suddenly Naruto's appearance changed. Once again he borrowed his teammate's likeness. "Come on!" he said to the invisible people. "I'll teach you to call my niinii names! Take that! And that! Hyuuga Hinata! Konoha's strongest kunoichi!"

Hinata's (the real one who still sat on Naruto's couch) face went from confused, to slightly amused to completely and entirely unable to stop giggling. The sight of herself punching away at imaginary villains was too much. Far too much. In a moment she was laughing out loud, her short high pitched squeaks, earning a smile from Naruto. The blond dropped his henge and jumped right to Hinata's side. "'Nata-chan! Can you teach me the Juken? I promise to only use it on people you don't like and enemy shinobi. And-and I'll carry all your survival supplies to and from training for a month!" he added quickly seeing the smile leaving Hinata's face.

Hinata shook her head. "I-I'm sorry, Naurot-kun," she said taking her teammate's hand in an effort to lessen the blow. "But the Juken is only possible if you have the Byakugan. It won't work any other way…" The Hyuuga's heart melted when she saw Naruto's crestfallen face. "B-but I can teach you other stuff," she said quickly. Just what she had no idea. Hinata was not by any means a talentless shinobi, she just didn't excel in any one area. So really there was nothing she felt confident enough in to teach to someone else. But there was Naruto smiling again and she couldn't help but smile too.

"Awesome! Thanks, 'Nata-chan!" The boy stood up, taking her hand as he did so. "C'mon! I know the perfect place we can practice!" The two preteens bounded out of Naruto's door and down a flight of stairs. The blond Genin stopped before a door, conjured a key into his hand and unlocked it. The two stepped into a dimly lit basement that looked as if a tornado had gone through it. "I took all the walls down, and put up some training dummies. Pretty cool, huh?"

"N-Naruto," Hinata said apprehensively. "W-won't your neighbors mind?"

"Ain't got any," answered Naruto as he removed his sandals. "This whole place is mostly condemned. Landlord only lets me live here because I do most of the work myself. Fixin' breakers, toilets, that stuff. The money I get from JiJi just goes right to food. Ready?" Naruto asked the blue haired girl who was wondering who 'JiJi' was. She looked at her friend who, ever with an abundance of energy in his system, was bouncing on the balls of his feet. Slowly the Hyuuga removed her shoes and her jacket. Normally she would not but the room quiet stuffy and while she hadn't had the most strenuous job that morning, Hinata still remembered the heat and humidity of the day.

"Ready…" answered Hinata. She felt so incredibly out of place without her jacket. Like there was too much of her exposed. The girl tentatively adopted her Juken stance. "Um…" the Hyuuga began, in no way sure where this lesson should go. She could work on Naruto's agility but, remembering the fight from earlier that day, Hinata doubted she was much more agile than Naruto. Nor would even the philosophy behind the Juken (to be an immovable rock) do him any good since all of his fighting revolved around constant mobility. Naruto was almost the anti-theses to the Juken. While the Juken accented subtly and control, Naruto's fighting style was about aggression and erratic movements. A thought suddenly came to the girl.

"N-Naruto-kun," Hinata said softly. "H-how is your chakra control?" The blond stared at her like she'd sprouted a second head. "Your-your chakra control." To Hinata who was raised from the time she could throw a punch to regulate how much chakra she pushed out of her hands, at what rate and instructed on how to do it in quick succession, chakra control was as fundamental to her as understanding "the" was to communicating in the English language. Not so for the Uzumaki who never got past the simple equation 'more chakra equals more good.' Needless to say the two stared at each other, neither sure exactly what to say or how to approach the subject. It was almost a full minute of this painful, awkward silence before Hinata spoke. "You-you know" –which Naruto did not- "how much chakra you-you put into your attacks."

"Eh?" was all the blond Genin could say.

"W-well, um," Hinata thought back to her earliest days, the very first lessons she received from her clan's Juken masters. "Hold out your hand," she said. Tentatively Naruto complied. It was hard to not feel silly standing there while Hinata walked around him prodding at his body and directing his posture. _Maybe she is my Oneesan…_ "Ok…" continued the girl once she was satisfied that Naruto's arm was extended in the right way and that his body was in the proper position. "Now move like this." Hinata went on to demonstrate a series of slow movements that bore almost no resemblance to the fighting style Naruto had begun to recognize as hers. "This-this is a meditative exercise, Naruto-kun." The blond looked at her clearly not grasping what this had to do with chakra control. "Our-our bodies- they- they naturally release chakra when we –when we move. That's how-how the Juken first began." A dim light of comprehension dawned on Naruto but his teammate could see he still didn't really understand. "These forms –they- they release much more chakra than normal movements but at-a at-a much steadier pace. Keep-keep going," instructed the Hyuuga as she stepped away from Naruto.

The blonde Genin continued the cycle of movements his teammate had shown him. Bringing her two forefingers together the Hyuuga activated her Clan's Bloodlimit. She hoped to get an idea of where Naruto's chakra levels were and how much he naturally released without thinking. From there they could refine his movements and make his chakra release a conscious effort as opposed to an entirely involuntary one. It was a decent plan one that almost identically mirrored the training she'd received. Naruto obviously wouldn't move on to the advanced steps but this seemed like as good a place as any to get her teammate thinking about chakra expenditure during jutsus and how to manipulate it. Unfortunately what Hinata saw through her Byakugan left the girl at even greater loss than when Naruto first approached her with his request. "N-Naruto!" the blue haired Hyuuga said quickly. "Stop! You're losing way too much chakra!"Konoha's Jinchuuriki and number one hyperactive knucklehead had been with each movement releasing enough chakra to fuel a normal bunshin. If he kept going like this he'd drop of chakra exhaustion.

"Huh?" Naruto looked at his teammate with a frown. "I feel fine, 'Nata-chan."

That simply wasn't possible. "Y-you feel fine?" Hinata said openly staring, her Byakugan no longer active.

"Yeah, really," replied the jinchuuriki as he continued to move through the stances Hinata had shown him. "See," he said as he sped up. "I could do this all day."

"Oh…" Hinata could think of nothing else to say. _At least now I know why you can't do normal jutsus, _thought the girl as comprehension dawned on her. _If he releases this much chakra normally than his stores…_ Once again the Hyuuga activated her Byakugan. Through it she examined the chakra coils throughout Naruto's body. They were at least as large as her father's and they seemed much denser. That density seemed to be the first of Naruto's many issues. First whenever he moved, each point flared at the same time begging for some form of escape. In most people this kind of abnormality would cause ones chakra pathways to overload and rupture. In Naruto, somehow his pathways had expanded to accommodate the absurd amounts of chakra his body was trying to get rid of so that now he couldn't do anything to stop the stream going through him.

Despite all this, if it were just that issue and that issue alone, Hinata was sure she could help Naruto. If it weren't for Naruto's second chakra problem this would only be a few weeks, maybe months, of meditative training. But with the Jinchuuriki's chakra coils pulsating those few weeks became several months. Hinata knew from her lessons this was only supposed to happen when they'd been drained and needed to increase chakra production during times of extreme distress. Which is why it was so incredibly strange to see Naruto's coils behaving as if Naruto was about to fight a Jounin level enemy while he was essentially at rest! Then there was the red chakra in Naruto's blue. It was pumping into his coils and leaking out into the rest of him. Whatever this second chakra was it would be an incredibly destabilizing factor.

"N-Naruto," Hinata said slowly. "You-you-you have too much chakra."

"Eh?" Naruto stared blankly at his teammate. "That's a thing?!" he said, disbelief on his every syllable.

"Yes!" For a moment the Hyuuga forgot her shyness. "N-Naruto, jutsus are really sensitive. Too much or too- too little chakra and they fall apart."

The jinchuuriki couldn't help but sigh. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. He couldn't perform handsigns at a passable rate. He had zero genjutsu ability outside of his body transformations. He lacked the size and muscle development to make taijutsu work. His hands weren't steady enough for the kenjutsu styles they were taught at the academy. And now he had too much chakra. Too much chakra! Just the concept seemed like someone's weird joke. Too little was the thing that he had always been told held back ninjas. Now here was Hinata, who he trusted entirely, telling him he had so much chakra his jutsus would fall apart even if he did get all those damned handsigns right. _Clearly the powers that be are having some fun with me._

"Don't get discouraged, N-Naruto!" Hinata, having seen the Naruto's expression sadden, took his hand. Clasping it with both of hers she looked down at him with her pale pleading eyes. "This-this is nothing. We can- we can figure something out."

The blond Genin gave his blue haired teammate a small smile. "I know, 'Nata-chan. This'll just make it more boss when I get to be Hokage. Believe it! Hey," he said as his smile grew. There was the same glint in his eyes he got before a prank. "I got an idea…"

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi waited patiently at the gates of the Hyuuga Compound. His eldest daughter, Hinata, had been out since six o'clock that afternoon. It was now almost two in the morning and yet his daughter was nowhere to be seen. He had not called on Konoha's police force only because his own people had already located her and reported back to him. Hinata had spent the day at the home of Uzumaki Naruto. From what he'd been told the two teammates had watched a movie together followed by several hours of training in the boy's basement.

"Not only is this child worse than her sister at the Juken, she is also incredibly self willed," complained a Main Branch member to Hiashi's side. "What child thinks they have the right to be out so late? And to miss her Juken practice! The gods like their jokes, Hiashi, that they would give you of all people a daughter like her. If her sixteenth birthday were tomorrow it would not be soon enough." Through all this Hiashi said nothing, watching only the path that his daughter must take to reach their home. Two more elderly men joined them, each with their foreheads displayed proudly, the Caged Seal absent from both. "What do you think, Hiro?" the man beside Hiashi asked one of the older men.

"The girl is kunoichi now," he answered in a deep voice. "She belongs to the Hokage first and the Hyuuga second. We must respect that her duties as a ninja of the Hidden Leaf will always take priority over minor clan functions, Yojimba."

The man called Yojimba frowned. He looked at his elders with disbelief. "The girl, who has already had her first blood, was in the home of a boy who has no doubt felt his first stirring," Yojimba said in disbelief. "And you speak of her duties as kunoichi? Bah! If her Jounin-sensei had been present it would be easy enough to quell gossip and rumors but alone? Has old age taken you, Hiro, that you no longer see what is before your eyes? The branch family already resents the favoritism we have shown the girl. Any other child would have received the caged bird seal by now but her forehead remains as proud as ours."

The second of the old men spoke. He had a soft raspy voice as if his vocal chords had been injured many times in his long life. "I do not know where you get your information, Hiro. All those under me speak well of the girl," he said waving a dismissive hand. "They see her as a rare, delicate bird who sings to them while they work. They cherish her music and do not wish her to be silenced."

"Your servants are old maids and the children they nurse." Yojimba's body reflected the irritation in his voice. "Of course they say such things of her. Do you not know of what her fellow shinobi say? Those who too first answer to the Hokage and to us second? To them this is an injustice. Most were her betters at the Juken by the time they could count eight summers. Any of them would be a better heir than Hinata yet because of their birth they were sealed before they could walk. It may not always be on their lips but what is in their eyes and in their hearts is plain to any who would look!" Yojimba paused. There was a pained look on his face. "I love Hinata," he said. "You say your servants see her as a beautiful songbird. I see her as jade. Jade so beautiful it should sit by the side of the Jade Emperor himself. But the gods are jealous. She was not born to them so she must live a half life. One where she cannot shine like jade..." The man called Yojimba looked away from the group, down the same path Hiashi did.

Not a sound could be heard in front of the Hyuuga Compound. Each man lost in himself, their own thoughts drawing them away from the others. It was not until the cheerful voices of two youths cut across the still night that the silence was broken. "You gotta check out Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind, 'Nata-chan," came the brash voice of a young boy. "It's one of his best! You'll love it, believe it!"

The soft laughter of a girl answered him. "I-I'm sure I will, Naruto-kun. Thank you. Tonight was wonderful." It was then that Hinata saw her father accompanied by three members of the Main House. "G-gomen, N-Naruto-kun. I- I have to go." With a quick bow to her teammate the small Hyuuga ran up to where her father stood. "G-Gomen nasai, Otou-san," she said with a deep bow. "I was training with Naruto-kun and-"

"We can discuss it in the morning." Hiashi's voice was curt. "In the future if your duties will conflict with your Juken training you will inform me in advance. I will not have Yojimba-san waiting on you when he could be with his children." The Hyuuga patriarch turned and stepped through the Hyuuga gates. The two older men followed so it was only Yojimba, Hinata and Naruto standing underneath the night sky.

"Gomen-nasai, Yo-Yojimba-sama,"Hinata said to her Juken instructor.

"You were helping one of your team train," the man said as if that alone settled the issue. "As your father said, inform him in the future." Yojimba turned his eyes on Naruto. "You are Uzumaki Naruto." It wasn't a question. "I hope you appreciate Hinata-san's willingness to teach you."

"Hell yeah!" Naruto didn't like any of the men Hinata had shown such reverence to. They were cold and hard, the opposite of what he expected after spending so much time with the warm and loving girl. "'Nata-chan should be running the academy! She got me places in a couple hours none of those idiots at the academy could in years!"

"Yes," Yojimba said slowly as he turned away from the pair. "Hinata-san is very patient. Even if she's waiting for a fox to walk upright and start speaking in a human tongue, I have no doubt she would see it through." With that the man disappeared through the gates leaving a Hinata who looked a little shocked her instructor had said that and a Naruto who didn't manage to work out the insult until Yojimba was gone.

"Did he-?!" The blonde Genin turned to his teammate. The girl had her hand over her mouth hiding a giggle.

"He-He likes you, N-Naruto-kun."

* * *

Kakashi's hands gripped the thighs of the slender beauty on top of him. As he dug into her flesh she impaled herself on his sex increasing her tempo to match the rising tension in his grip. With a yell Kakashi climaxed, his hands holding the dark haired beauty in place until the last bit of him released into her body. The red eyed woman only smiled while a finger played with her hair. "You're so cute when you cum," Kurenai told Konoha's Copy-Nin.

"Not something a guy wants to hear after sex…" Kakashi said as his bedmate slid off him and rested her head on his chest. "Try something like 'I'm gonna be sore for a week,'" he suggested helpfully.

Kurenai only rolled her eyes. Placing the back of her hand against forehead as if to wipe away sweat, she began to pant in short ragged breaths. "Oh, Kakashi –senpai! You- you tore my little fuck hole apart!" Konoha's Spider said in a voice much higher pitched than her normal one.

"Much better."

"You know," Kurenai said as she gave her lover's nipple a playful pinch. "I did most of the work today. And by most I mean all. And by work I mean fucking. So…" the kunoichi gave Kakashi a seductive look. "I think it's my turn. Don't act like you don't know what I want…" With a sigh the Copy Nin stood and walked to the center of the room. "Oh yeah, baby. Give me what I need!" Kakashi turned away from her. He began to tap his foot in beat with a tune neither could hear. Slowly the rhythm made its way up his body and to his shoulders. As Kurenai squealed he turned his head to look at her over his shoulder.

"_Whatever happened to those Saturday nights?"_ Kakashi sung. "_When ya dressed up sharp and ya felt alright? It don't seem the same since cosmic light, came into my life. I thought I was divine!"_ The Jonin turned to face Kurenai, a saucy look on his face. _"I used to roll around with any chick who'd go. We'd listen to the music on the ra-adio. Saxophone was blowing on a rock n' roll show. It felt pretty good. You really had a gooood tiiiime!"*****_

"_Hot Patoooie! Bless my soul!"_ Kurenai joined in as she laughed. "_I really love that rock n' roll!_ Oh my god, Kakashi. That was great," the Spider said as her bedmate returned to his spot next to her. "You're everything a girl dreams of," she added with a long sigh. Kakashi allowed himself a small laughed. "So, how'd your team do? I hear you finally passed someone."

"Yeah," answered the man who'd failed every team he'd received in the last 3 years. "That Kiba kid, he really makes them work. Literally. He basically forced Haruno and the Uchiha to work together. Kid has good pack instincts. That stuff about alphas and betas is all bullshit. He didn't dominate Sasuke or Sakura. He argued, he waited for them to strike, he yelled a good bit too. Finally he said fuck it and agreed to be the one without a bell so long as Haruno and Uchiha agreed to work together. Kid sees that the pack is more important than the individual. So I made him team leader. Gonna have Sakura and Sasuke reporting to him every morning before training."

"You're cruel," Kurenai informed him in between giggles. "Haruno's looks like she's the type who won't have any problem with that but Sasuke… I'm pretty sure I saw his picture in the dictionary under OFP.******"

"Like you have any room to talk." Kakashi smirked at the red eyed woman laying next to him. "When was the last time you were in uniform?"

Kurenai scrunched up her nose. "I hate that vest. It doesn't protect anything and what's the point of all those pockets if I can't keep my blush or tampons in them?"

"Smoke tags, spare radio batteries, explosives," the Copy Nin listed as he ticked of each item with a finger. "Maybe a kunai… You know. Ninja stuff."

"I'm a Genjutsu specialist," the Spider fired back. "I have jutsus for all that. I don't have one for when blood starts spilling out of my cooch."

"There goes any chance for a round two," sighed Kakashi with a shake of his head. "So how'd Team 8 do?"

"Wonderful," Kurenai answered truthfully. She planned to pass them anyway but they'd done so well it made shutting up other Jounins easy. "I simulated a kidnapping scenario. The kids tracked me, set up a plan of attack and then followed through beautifully. Shino, the Aburame, is absolutely brilliant. He already has the mind of a Chuunin." _I don't doubt that,_ thought Kakashi as he listened to Kurenai._ Shino's mother is probably Konoha's most feared Missing-Nin Hunter. "_Naruto can mass produce clones like no one I've ever even heard of before. The boy's chakra reserves are at least as high as mine if not higher," _Well with who his parents were…_ "And Hinata's so quiet it's like she's not even there. You don't realize it until she's collapsed one of your lungs or arteries. She's perfect." _Don't think Hyuugas would appreciate you turning one of there's into an assassin type. They're a proud family and look down on Ninja who don't stand and fight._

"Glad you got the team you wanted, Kurenai," Kakashi said sincerely. The man might always be looking for ulterior motives but… he could never help feeling happy for a friend. "Hopefully mine get it together. I'm giving them team building exercises for the next month. Until they learn to recognize Kiba as their leader I'm not risking a mission. Sasuke is too head strong and Sakura keeps getting caught between what her duties as a kunoichi are and what she thinks Sasuke wants."

"She got a crush on the talented dark haired boy with a troubled past?"

"Her and every other god damned preteen in this village." Kakashi's voice sounded as if there was something bitter at the end of his tongue that he wanted to be rid of. "I swear, I walked the boy home to get a feel for what kept from recognizing others as his peers or comrades and they came out by the hundreds. 'Oh,Sasuke!'" The Jounin mimicked. "'I haven't even had my first period but I'll have your babies!' It's like the boy secretes some magic pheromone that makes him irresistible to preteen girls."

"Ohh, jealous your student gets more tail than you, Kakashi?" joked Kurenai as she reached between his legs and began playing with his penis. "Don't worry. No prepubescent dick is gonna steal me away from this little guy."

"Hey, if you're gonna do that," the Copy-Nin said after taking a sharp breath. "Let's not talk about our teams."

"Do what? This?"

* * *

"Man… 'Nata-chan's family are total cunts," complained Naruto as he set off back to his apartment. The Genin walked through the streets with his hand buried in his pockets and his head hung low. "How'd someone as awesome as Hinata end up coming from those guys." He kicked a can absentmindedly. The sudden _CLINK! _and _CLANK! _as the metal struck the pavement must have surprised someone because the moment the can came to a stop Naruto heard someone gasp. "Huh?" the blond jinchuuriki muttered as he looked up and saw a pink haired girl his age looking around as if she suspected every shadow held some unpleasant surprise. _In this neighborhood, they probably do,_ thought Naruto walking up to the girl. "You lost, 'nee-chan?" he called out.

The girl spun around to face him, her hands balled into fist, ready to fight. "Naruto?" she said hesitantly.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto looked at the girl trying to figure out why she would be so far from home. "Does your sensei have you doing some weird training?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and turned away from him. "No," she replied flatly. "No he isn't. Now leave me alone. I'm not dealing with you right now." Angrily the pink haired kunoichi began to walk away, her footsteps making more noise than the can Naruto had kicked.

_Is she ok?_ wondered Naruto. He watched as Sakura walked away, unsure of what to do. Then he remembered the words he'd shared with his teammates the previous morning and the decision was made for him. "Sakura-chan! Wait up! You can't be out like this. This street's not very safe." Naruto had run up to her and taken hold of her wrist. He expected her to hit him like she'd often done in class but she just stopped and looked at him. "I mean it. The folks out here ain't bad but they're desperate and that makes people dangerous. Dangerous and dumb. Let me take you home."

It was then that Sakura pulled her wrist free. As she glared at the ground between them she spoke in a raw voice as if she were holding back sobs. "I'm not going home!" the pink haired girl told him. It was all she said but the words resonated with Naruto. Seven years ago he'd said the same to a silver-haired man who'd found him on this very street. Taking Sakura's hand, the jinchuuriki gave it a friendly squeeze. He made the same offer the man had.

"That's fine, Sakura-chan," Naruto said with an innocent smile. "Do you want to come spend the night in my place?"

Sakura looked at him for a moment. She swallowed hard. "You-you won't try anything weird, will you?"

_Same thing I asked._ "No. You can even take the bed if you want." Naruto smiled at Sakura. The girl looked away from him but slowly nodded her head. Together they walked the few blocks it took to reach the boy's apartment. Throughout their walk and even as Naruto unlocked the door to his apartment, the pink haired kunoichi said nothing. She sat on his couch staring blankly at the room around her. "You want anything to drink?" Sakura shook her head no. The blonde Genin watched her thinking back to his own night like this seven years ago. The silver haired man had sat with him, neither speaking until the sun came up. Naruto didn't want the same for his friend.

"I used to live in the orphanage," he said looking down at his feet. He'd sat next to Sakura and left his jacket lying on the coffee table in front of them. "It wasn't- it wasn't nice there. The kids hated me. Especially the older ones. They would hit me every day with broomsticks, mops and anything else they could find. Most days if I didn't eat fast enough they'd take my food or spill it. Everyone was mean to me except the matron and this one girl who sometimes worked there. I don't remember her much but she had really long dark hair that smelled so nice. Everyone liked her because she was so pretty. No one played jokes on her at all even with her being blind. I always thought I wanted to be a girl like her, pretty so everyone would be nice to me. That's why I started using Oiroke. I wanted people to be nice to me like they were to her. But they just called me a freak and hit me even harder.

"One day the matron caught us. She brought a bunch of us in and told us we had to behave. That fighting between people of the same village was wrong. She said we were all brothers and had to protect each other. Everyone smiled and agreed. I was happy. I thought they'd stop hurting me. So when they told me to come with them into the yard that night I went. When we got outside it was a bunch of the older boys." Naruto paused. Sakura was looking at him now but he couldn't raise his eyes to meet hers. Not now when there were tears in them. "They took me into an alley. They had bats and bottles and other things. It's really hazy but they-they put them inside me." There was no stopping the tears. They fell from his ocean blue eyes down his face. "I begged them to stop but they wouldn't. They called me freak, he-she, demon and beat me. I passed out. I woke up dressed with no one around. So I walked until a silver-haired man stopped me. I- I think he knew what happened but he- he never said anything. I just wanted to talk to someone but I was so afraid to."

The two children sat silent neither able to speak. Both cried silently their tears the only proof they were in pain.

"My dad," Sakura whispered as she leaned in closer to Naruto. "He- he came into my room. I was asleep and when he woke me up his-his hands were groping me. He was squeezing my breasts and he was on top of me trying to kiss me." The girl began shiver uncontrollably. "I could smell his breath; feel his stubble on my face; his nails digging into me. I just yelled and pushed him away." Sakura looked at Naruto suddenly apologetic. "I'm sorry, Naruto. It's not like what happened to you-"

"The pain is the same," whispered Naruto placing his hand over Sakura's. The two friends looked at each and fell into a deep embrace each trying to carry the pain the other felt. "Whatever you want to do, Sakura-chan," Naruto said into her ear. "I'll help you any way I can. You're my friend and I'd do anything for you."

"Thank you, Naruto," Sakura whispered back. "I'm happy to have a friend like you." She fell asleep to the steady beating of his heart.

* * *

Kakashi and Kurenai lay next to each other but only one could sleep. Kurenai breathed easily into the Copy-Nin's chest as he opened his usually closed eye. The Sharingan was the mightiest of all existing doujutsus and coveted by every village. It gave one the power to copy any enemy ability no matter how complex; the power to manipulate the mind of an enemy, making them think the thoughts you wanted, feel their end coming closer; and whatever it saw stayed in your memory no matter how fast or brief a moment it was. It was this last power that kept the nin up tonight. He never forgot any of his assassinations, the last moments of his friend's lives or his failures over the years.

Tonight the image that stood above the others was the last of his ANBU missions. He'd been tasked with looking after a young boy, Konoha's jinchuuriki. Kakashi's orders were to protect the boy from enemy ninja and threats against his life, nothing else. He was to submit reports to the Hokage and the ANBU commander about the boy's development. He did. He told them the boy was regularly beaten, that the other children ostracized him, that none ever came to his side as the other children pelted him with rocks. The Hokage spoke with the Matron (discretely) informing her about an observed rise in bullying in her orphanage.

She was a good enough woman. A good heart but her eyes wouldn't see what she refused to. How could they? Naruto never had bruises on him. His skin showed no signs of the alleged abuse and he was always smiling. He was a perfectly healthy boy who just didn't get along with the other children. It happened, especially when that child reminded so many of the children why they were orphans and why their parents were no longer there to provide for them. There was nothing she could do. So Kakashi arranged for her to walk in on the boys in the act. She had been horrified. She wouldn't have that in her orphanage. Life was hard enough without hurting each other she'd said. The Matron spoke to them about brotherhood, about the Will of Fire, about forgiveness and the importance protecting each other. Her passion filled the room and everyone bowed their heads feeling the woman's warmth shame them. Even Kakashi felt his heart strings tugged. He forgot the cruelty of men.

It wasn't long before he remembered.

When Kakashi saw the boys take Naruto away he left his post. The Copy-Nin went for the Matron. But then he heard a scream unlike any scream he'd heard before. "What's the matter, demon boy? I thought you wanted to be a girl? We're just making you one!" What happened next lasted only a second. Kakashi appeared before the teen and preteen boys with his sharingan completely exposed. Black fire spit from it, searing the flesh of each child until there was nothing left. Only Naruto remained; covered in blood and unconscious… but alive. Kakashi dressed the naked boy whispering words of apology to him and his father. He took him to his apartment and the two sat there silent wishing he knew how to fill the silence, how to make the boy smile and laugh like Minato would have wanted.

But he couldn't.

"Hatake Kakashi," Sarutobi had said through his pipe. The Jounin stood at attention waiting for the Shadow of Fire to pass judgment. "I know what you did. So does your commander. We also know why you did it and have factored it into our decision. We've decided you are too unstable to serve as an ANBU Operator." Kakashi could see each decade on Sarutobi's face. Gone were the wrinkles of the loving grandfather. This was an old man tired of the world he had to live in. "You have more than enough missions on your record to retire but… You are too valuable to the Hidden Leaf. We ask that you remain as a Jounin for us at least until our numbers are greater."

"This is all I know," the silver-haired Jounin had answered.

"Thank you, Kakashi." The old man took a deep breath. This next part would hurt. "Under the terms of your probation you are not to have contact with the boy."

Inside Kakashi cracked. Formalities and rank were forgotten. Something in him was screaming so loud nothing the man said mattered to him. It was Naruto's scream. "Is that coming from you or from Danzo?" He no longer cared. "The wolf gets to keep raiding the chicken coop without the hound to sniff him out, right?"

"Damn it, Kakashi!" The Hokage pounded his fist on his table. "You killed ten civilian boys! Danzo is the least of your worries. Do you think this is something we can just erase?"

"You didn't see what they did to him!" Kakashi anger was at least a match for Sarutobi's. The silver-haired Jounin's glare would have made a weaker man cower. Against Sarutobi Hiruzen it served only to vent some of the rage that had been building inside him. "The way they laughed like it was all some joke!"

Sarutobi took a long drag from his pipe. He wasn't angry with Kakashi, he couldn't be. It was too easy to understand why the man done what he had done. No, Sarutobi was angry at the world, at the boys and, most of all, at himself. When Naruto had been found he could have offered him to a family, any of the clans would have taken him. He could have given them to the Uchiha and allowed them to clear their name by protecting the last thing Minato had left them. Or the Hyuuga and allowed them to pay their respects to Kushina. Or, hell, he could have tracked down his drunken, pervert of a student and made him actually look after his godson. But no. He'd chosen to "protect" the boy. To keep him away from the politics, away from the games of power the clans played with each other. To keep him away from the life of a ninja.

And look where that got him.

"This is not open for discussion, Kakashi. You are dismissed."

Kakashi had given the man one last hateful look before leaving his office and climbing to the top of the Hokage monument. Sometimes when he listened he could hear his sensei's word. They brought him comfort making him think back on the days where they had all been together, before all the wars and all the missions that made him into one of the most feared Jounin in the elemental nations. But this morning there was only silence. Kakashi couldn't help but feel as if Minato had finally turned his back on him. This was one failure too many.

Kakashi stroked the cheek of the woman beside him. She was so different from him. Where he could only destroy things she could make them better; heal them until they were something greater than before. "Take care of Naruto, Kurenai," he whispered before leaving a tender kiss on her lips. "He deserves someone like you." Knowing sleep wouldn't come he glanced up at his ceiling hoping to distract himself by counting the tiles. _Thirty-two hundred and six._ The Sharingan never forgot. "No rest for the wicked," sighed Kakashi before closing both eyes.

* * *

***If you don't recognize the song please checkout Rocky Horror Show. I a fun stoner musical from the seventies.**

****Own Fucking Program. Basically just a general term for someone who always does their own thing often to the detriment of the unit.**

**That's chapter 5. Please let me know if I didn't handle this like I should have. I have no problem erasing this and starting from scratch.**

**Take care of yourselves.**


	6. Little talks

**EDIT: adamrpg pointed out some pretty big issues with how this closed so (thanks to their feedback) I've rewritten the ending to this chapter. Hope you folks don't mind. **

**So this is chapter 6. Bits of it could probably stand for some revision but hopefully those of you who read this get some pleasure out of it. Just a heads up, the children here will be sexually active and I'm going to talk about their puberty in detail. I know that's a bit gross but I kinda have my heart set on it. If that's not something that interests you or that you disapprove of than please feel free to voice your complaint. It might even get me to cut it from the rest of the story (but that ain't likely)**

**Anyway, I tried making this chapter a bit more upbeat and a bit more like what you'd see in a shonen. Hopefully the character progression is believable and no one is too OCC (except maybe Sakura who's kinda... well she's not much like her canon self :/)**

* * *

Kurenai hid herself beside a large bush within the forest that was Training Ground 26. She had assigned Team 8 a Locate and Capture mission where she was playing the part of an enemy nin attempting to make away with valuables. The valuables in question held a particular value to each of her three students. From Naruto she'd taken his week's supply of ramen. ("Kurenai-sensei! This is inhuman!") From Hinata she'd taken the girl's diary. ("Dear Diary, I touched myself today, thinking of he who takes my very breath away-" "K-Kurenai-sensei, pl-pl-please don't!") And from Shino she'd taken a pair of his older sister's underwear. ("Kurenai-sensei, Rukia- she already thinks I'm somekind of closet otaku. Please. For the well being of my family, return them.") All to properly motivate her students, of course. The satisfaction Kurenai got watching the three of them squirm was just a pleasant byproduct.

"Let's see just how clouded their judgment gets,"Kurenai said aloud as she sensed Naruto's unmistakable wellspring of chakra. Out of all her students, he'd shown the most improvement in the last three months. After their first session, Hinata had helped the boy develop a combat style that truly made use of his abundance of the jutsu fuel. He would create three clones, each with different chakra levels in them, and attack like a normal shinobi unit would. One clone fired off debilitating ninjutsus left and right, forcing you onto the defensive, while two others attacked simultaneously with the boys over the top acrobatic style of fighting. When one fell, the others would gain whatever knowledge it had, adjust course and keep on attacking. They were even able to transfer chakra between each other so that at any point one could switch to ninjutsu, taijutsu or… well they could try genjutsu but so far each of the boy's attempts had ended in failure. Still he was getting better.

Hinata's stealth skills had been improving as well. Ever since she started shadowing Naruto (no doubt assisting him on the many pranks he pulled on a daily basis) the girl's footsteps became softer and she began to grasp some of the finer points behind staying unseen. She hugged shadows, stayed away from lights and just seemed to live in those blind spots. Kurenai's chest swelled with pride whenever she caught her student reading through anatomy texts, trying to create models of sinew and muscle layers, calling on her Juken instructor to give her advice on better ways to apply the Juken if one wanted to quickly incapacitate an enemy, changing herself from a frontline fighter to a quick hit-and-run skirmisher. The Spider couldn't wait to take her on a mission and see the young Hyuuga perform.

Shino was as brilliant as ever. The boy's command of tactics were far above what you'd expect of a Genin but it was how quickly he adapted his bugs to poisons, reconnaissance and subdual that really impressed Kurenai. The boy's queen could produce ticks, mosquitoes, cicadas, any innocuous insect you could imagine and, while their poisons weren't lethal, they were not something you wanted to feel while he was charging you with his kamas. They'd develop not only a way to communicate with him but with the rest of Team 8 as was another Kurenai wanted to see on a real mission. Something that would tax his mind and his versatility.

_That's why we're doing this,_ thought Kurenai as she smiled to herself. Her position was already compromised she knew, but that was part of the exercise. Once the three genin got to her she had a nasty surprise for them. The Spider smiled. She could never get over her love of watching people squirm whether it was Kakashi begging to be allowed to cum, a diplomat realizing the ditzy girl he'd been chatting up had caught him saying something he shouldn't have, or her students realizing there was a reason Kurenai was called The Spider of Konoha. "Tangled in my web," she whispered as Naruto attacked her position. The blonde haired Genin came down with a kunai, swinging aggressively at his Jounin-sensei. Kurenai easily moved out of the way of his initial attack and then each follow up strike. Despite being known as a Genjutsu specialist, the Jounin was very well versed in hand-to-hand combat and the Genin's attacks were far too slow to be a threat to her. Then again, she realized noticing the distinct absence of any follow up attacks,Naruto probably had no intention of hurting her. He was playing the part of the enraged preteen. This was an obvious attempt to corral her towards something. 'What'Kurenai had no intention of finding out.

_Time to play like most boys your age and chase the pretty girl,_thought Kurenai with a smile. The red eyed beauty leapt over Naruto and into the woods he'd come out of. She masked her steps just enough to make them have to work to truly follow her tail. Not that she needed to as Naruto seemed determined in his pursuit. _Awww… Naruto, they always give you the worst jobs, don't they?_ Laughing to herself, The Spider increased her speed and switched directions causing Naruto to make a sharp turn. _You're agile,_ thought Kurenai as she appraised her student's skill level._ But you still need some work. Now if I'm right, one of his clones should be coming up on me… now! _Kurenai dropped to the ground as one of the Jinchuuriki's shadow clones leapt at her. _Trying to stall me but you had no time to set up new traps. Shino and Hinata must be trying to adjust positions. Good work, Naruto but you're still letting an enemy choose the place of battle._

Kurenaistood, a movement that was one part somersault and one part kick delivered to the clone's face. It popped out of existence as the kunoichi righted herself leaving her free to continue the cat and mouse game with her student. He chased her through woods, each of his movements no longer directed at stopping or catching her. The feel of Kurenai's foot as it caught the temple of his clone fresh on his mind,Naruto no doubt realized any type of solo attack wouldn't do anything to slow down his sensei. But if he pushed hard enough he could keep up with her and, by extension, so could the rest of Team 8. _I'm actually impressed,_ thought Kurenai as she juked away from a series of shuriken Naruto had hurled at her._Hinata and Shino must be getting desperate by now but they've realized showing themselves would only tip their hand. Very smart. Hide what threats and how many threats an enemy will face. Sadly, I already know you guys so it's kinda pointless._

Konoha's Spider continued to lead its Jinchuuriki through the forest allowing herself to stumble only when they reached seven large oaks. The trees surrounded a clearing scarcely 50 yards wide and each held a different symbol on them. Seven symbols that would only be visible if you knew where to look for , who was thanking whatever gods were with him that day for his inhuman stamina, did not, so he wandered into the trap entirely oblivious to what his sensei had planned. Summoning two clones he went back on the assault, each attacking from a different flank, hoping to expose the Jounin to either of his teammates who were waiting to attack. That opportunity came whenNaruto delivered a drop kick into Kurenai's guard. Having used his clone as a springboard and with his second clone aiming to sweep the Jounin's feet out from under her, it managed to force the Spider to expose herself as she scrambled to catch herself mid fall. Hinata leapt out ready to strike her sensei's legs taking her speed out of the fight. It was a very well timed attack except Kurenai knew it was coming.

The Hyuuga's Juken strike connected harmlessly against a wooden log with strange writing on it. "Damn!" Hinata swore (a habit she had learned from Naruto) as she withdrew to her teammate's position. Already Naruto had his hands together ready to adopt the visage of his friend and would have except, inexplicably, he couldn't call on any of his chakra. "N-Naruto-kun," the blue haired girl said to her teammate. "What-what are you waiting for?" The jinchuuriki grimaced as he tried to force the chakra he knew was there out. Despite his best efforts, nothing happened.

"'Nata," he said seeing his two clones pop out of existence. "Something is really wrong. My chakra won't come."

"What?!" was all Hinata managed to say before Kurenai was on her, striking at the girl who soon found her chakra was as inaccessible as Naruto's. Switching to what little she knew of Goken the small Hyuuga girl tried to defend herself. Her opponent had reach, years of experience and a huge weight advantage on the five foot and two inch tall was a lot to overcome. However Hinata blocked, Kurenai could get past her guard and land blows that staggered the girl. But the Hyuuga wouldn't fall. A lifetime of Juken practice had taught to tolerate pain in a way few shinobi could. _Why isn't Naruto jumping to save the little princess?_ Wondered the Jounin as Hinata missed a kick, leaving her vulnerable to a grapple. _If this doesn't draw him out, no idea what will._Kurenai, with Hinata's right leg in the pocket formed by the Jounin's arm and side, hoisted the girl up, drove her palm square into her diaphragm and then slammed her onto the ground.

"Gotcha!" yelled Naruto as a bola curled around Kurenai'smid section. It went around her torso, pinning her arms to her side. _Guess Hinata drew the short straw today and had to play meatshield,_ thought the Spider as Naruto lunged at her suspecting she'd be a much more vulnerable target. She was but not to someone at his level. All the Genin received for his patience and timing was a painful kick that caught him mid jump. As he came down the Jounin caught his neck between her thighs. Pulling his arm up to her chest, Kurenai squeezed. The blood flow to his brain suddenly cut off, there was little the small blonde could do beside give a near inaudible grunt. He was rescued by a screaming Hinata who swung violently at the older kunoichi.

_Not the first time a woman's come at me with a knife after catchingher man with his head between my legs. _It was strange but Kurenai loved these fights between her and her team. She could go as crazy as she wanted trusting in their commitment to each other to pull through no matter what happened. The Jounin would never actually jeopardize their lives or cause them serious hurt, but in these fights the three rookieGenin could push as hard as they wanted. Shino would come at her with his kamas ready to cut out a piece of her flesh; Hinata would strike at her lungs, liver and kidneys; Naruto would let go and use every drop of chakra he had just to get over that next hurdle. Their training was never just some mindless task because Kurenai was having a bad day or because they weren't progressing as fast as she wanted. Everything simulated actual missions and everything taxed their abilities. And then they'd all go out to eat at a restaurant or watch a movie or just walk around town ribbing on each other until the sun set. It was nice. Even now, Kurenai knew once they were finished, everyone would be smiling again, laughing at how they'd been caught off guard, at how they'd completely fell for it. There wasn't a malicious bone in any of their bodies. And anyone who told her that was a weakness could stuff it. These kids were ready to be Chuunin without ever completing a C-Ranked Mission.

* * *

"So how'd your training go?" asked Kiba as he lapped up the dish Shino's father had prepared. The two boys sat across from each other at the table in the Aburame's kitchen. Kiba had abandoned his jacket at the front door and now sat with only his T-shirt and jeans. Shino, of course, remained entirely covered in the long white coat more than a few Shinobi whispered all Aburame's were born in.

"Would you like to see the cuts?" the bug user offered as he took a small helping of rice. He was as hungry as his friend but the young Genin prided himself in his self-control.

Kiba laughed. "That hottie mess you up bad?" he asked before taking a long swallow from his cup.

"Not her," Shino replied with a small smile and shake of his head. "My tenants. Kurenai-sensei coated the field with a bug repellant," he explained, seeing the confused look on Kiba's face. The Inuzuka coughed into his drink before pounding the table. "Imagine my surprise when my queen and most of my hive began biting and clawing at me. Whatever agent Kurenai-sensei used, it sent them into a frenzy. I thought they might eat through my skin."

"Oh, man! That bitch is a sadist," laughed Kiba. Nothing caused the long time friend of the youngest Aburame more joy than hearing about how the bug user stumbled across misfortune.

"You don't know the half of it," muttered Shino. The boy was still in pain but… he'd had fun. There was something about spitting up his own blood or waking up to fist sized bruises over his body that appealed to Shino. "She tricked us all into following her into a chakra suppressing field she had set up previously."

"And you didn't see that coming?" Kiba was a bit incredulous Shino would ever overlook anything. "What happened to those super brains of yours? C'mon, man!"

"I was supposed to foresee that she would coat a space 100 yards wide in a toxin that would be harmless to humans but would drive my entire colony mad? That she would turn an entire field into an anti-jutsu zone so that neither of my teammates would be able to perform even a basic bunshin technique?" Shino lifted a hand to his chin. "Hmm. Upon further consideration, yes, I should have seen that coming. The woman is merciless. Mother and her would get along wonderfully." The two sat silent for a moment savoring the meal in front of them. The brilliance Aburame Shibi brought to chemistry translated beautifully into the man's cooking. "How has your team been doing, Kiba?" Shino asked looking up at his friend. "Are you still Kakashi-san's second in command?"

The Inuzuka sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. I'm still wiping the princess's ass and keeping all the razors away from Emos Inc." Kiba noticed the slight darkening in Shino's expression. Around almost anyone else it would have gone unnoticed but Kiba knew his friend like the back of his pup's ears. "Hey, don't get me wrong, man. Sasuke could kick my ass blindfolded and that pink-haired bitch? She really knows, well, everything. But it's a fucking pain having to help fill out reports, having to track them down everyday, all that stupid paper shit. I joined the Academy cuz I wanted to be a badass like my dad, not a pencil pusher."

"Logistics is important to the well being of any military force," Shino began with a shrug. He'd heard his friend's complaints before and like then he'd give him the same advice. "Imagine if you returned from a mission and found your pay details were wrong. Or if your official record did not accurately reflect the number of missions you've completed. 'Pencil pushing' may not be as glamorous as the stories you've heard from your father but that does not diminish the role it plays."

Kiba waved a fork dismissively. "Yeah, yeah," he said looking away from his friend. "Not like we're doing anything fun anyway. These D-Ranks missions are just chores. I dunno how lazy you gotta be to not be able to paint your own damn fence. Maybe the Naras are secretly behind them all…" Once again both boys were silent, the Inuzuka more so than the Aburame. It wasn't long before Shino noticed a shift in his friend's mood, as if there were something he needed to say but was afraid to. "Hey, Shino. Can I- Can I tell you something? Like, something secret?" The bug user nodded. "Sakura, her parents are getting divorced and it's- it's fucking ugly, man. Like I thought it was bad with mine but, shit, those two are literally at each other's throats. Sakura won't tell us anything about it. Like, 'jack shit' kinda nothing."

"Has it interfered with her duties?" asked Shino as he considered his friend's concern.

"No but it's getting in the way of mine. Yeah, training and missions go fine but I never know where that pink haired psycho is at. She's never at her place. I tried asking _Sasgay_ but all that faggot did was grunt at me. How am I supposed to kiss her highness's booboos if she's never where she's supposed to be? Losing my fucking mind here, man."

Shino smiled at his friend's outburst. "You are in luck, Kiba," the Aburame said taking some satisfaction in the Inuzuka's sudden confusion. "As it happens my teammate, Uzumaki-san, is very close to the Haruno girl. She sometimes attends Team functions with us and I have it on good authority that when she is not spending the night at Naruto's she's spending it with Sas_gay,_ as you call him." Shino couldn't help but openly smirk at Kiba's dropped jaw. "It seems the nickname you've given him isn't appropriate."

"Jesus what a fucking whore," growled Kiba. Once again he looked away from his friend and out the kitchen window. "Stupid fucking slut. I mean, what kinda girl spreads them for two different guys?"

Shino sighed. However much he liked and appreciated Kiba's friendship, moments like this tried the bug user's patience. "From what I understand, Naruto is not romantically involved with Sakura. They are friends and friends only. Furthermore, it is inappropriate to speak that way of your own teammate." Shino removed his sunglasses and carefully wiped them with a napkin. As he placed them back on his face he gave Kiba a cold look. "And if you're going to allow an emotion as petty as jealousy to turn you against a teammate than perhaps Kakashi-san's faith in you is misplaced."

Inuzuka Kiba was a talented Genin. His taijutsu was well above what was expected of someone fresh out of the Academy and how he handled his duties with the competency of someone who'd been running missions for years. He was not, despite these two wonderful traits, someone who handled criticism well. Even coming from someone as close to him as the Aburame who he'd come to see as an odd but loving brother, it made Kiba bristle. And while he handled responsibility like someone with far more experience than what he actually had, the Inuzuka was still very much a thirteen year old boy. "Fuck off," he said angrily. "And don't go spreading stupid shit like that. That pink-haired slut's just a teammate. I wouldn't fuck her if ya paid me." Kiba stood, grabbing his jacket as he did so. "Look, man, I gotta go. See ya later."

This wasn't their first interaction like this. Over the years Shino had counseled his friends numerous times on his often sexist demeanor, his frequent pettiness and his inability to accept others may not see things the way he did. And every time, Kiba would swear, brush the Aburame off and then call back in a few days asking for more advice. It was an old game, one that Shino was growing tired off. Before when the Inuzuka was the only link he had to the strange world that was the pre-adolescent mind, the bug user had been, if not comfortable with the arrangement, willing to play his part. However now that he had spent so much time with Hinata and Naruto…

Shino sighed as he stood and cleared the table. Hinata was the warmest human being the preteen had ever met. Whatever the topic she would listen intently as you spoke, sharing kind words, nods and smiles. When you were finished she would look up from the ground and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with her. Hinata made every moment calmer, more peaceful, as if the world slowed down around you making all the stresses of the day melt away. Underneath those pale lavender eyes life was just easier. Even if you'd just found out your mother's mission would keep her away for another four months. The Aburame smiled as the water ran over his hands. Hinata was no mouse. She was like gentle rays of sun waking you in the morning, bathing you in their warmth.

And Naruto was like a storm passing through in the middle of spring, turning your life upside down in the best possible ways. There was no constant to him except chaos, excitement and misadventure. Just yesterday while he and Hinata had been on their way to Naruto's apartment, the blond Genin had jumped down between them, thrust something into Hinata's hands and shouted "Protect this with your life!" Then before either preteen could ask what was happening, Konoha's Number One Troublemaker had bolted the way his two teammates had come. Half a moment later two masked ninjas wearing all black and small breastplates had followed. "Were those-?" the Hyuuga had asked wide-eyed. Shino could only nod as they examined the parcel Naruto had ordered them to look after. "Th-th-this is-," the girl had stammered. "Hokage-sama's headpiece," Shino had finished as he drove his palm into his own forehead. The short blonde was trouble, Shino knew, but he was the kind of trouble that gave you amazing stories to share, each a memory that a brought a smile to your face.

Shino did not know love. He understood the signs of the emotion well enough, it was an integral part of the world he lived in it. It was impossible to stay ignorant of it and function. Like most things, Shino understood it on an intellectual level. What he did not know was the emotion itself. Having a father whose work as a chemist and sometime diplomat kept him away long hours and a mother whose missions often called for her to be gone for year long periods without any contact with him had created a wall in the Aburame's heart. He did not seek surrogate parents in his uncles or grandparents. He did not seek surrogate siblings in the other children his age. (Even his relationship with Kiba could be better described as that between two men who sometimes sat next to one another at a tavern or bar.) He did not even seek to kill his heart so that he may never feel misery. Shino had simply removed himself from it completely, occupying his time with studies and training.

But these last three months with Team 8 had made him feel… attached? No. The Aburame was not attached or dependent. This was… something like those two emotional states but different. Smiling to himself, Shino returned each dish to the appropriate cabinet. The day before Kurenai had taken them all to a nearby stream to begin water walking training. He and Hinata had picked it up quick enough but Naruto had sunk like a lead brick. Their Jounin-sensei had been forced to dive in after him near the end of their exercise. She had emerged glistening in the sun, the fabric of her uniform hugging every contour of her body. Shino hadn't been able to remove that image from his head when he'd been lying in bed that night. Finally he'd relented to his body's wants and masturbated for the first time in his life. Taking this memory and all the others from the last month Shino thought back to the words of his favorite anti-hero. "Maybe the wooden boy is becoming human,"***** laughed Shino as he heard the front door open. "Father?" he called out walking into the living room.

"Son?" the deep voice of the middle aged man returned. The elder Aburame was darker skinned than his son sporting an intricate series of piercing along his right ear and a thin moustache. He was well over six feet tall and the thick coat he wore (identical to his son's) did nothing to hide his thick muscular frame. "Is there something you need?" It was rare for either Aburame to speak to the other unless one needed something or had heard some gossip about the other that needed to be explained.

"No," Shino answered truthfully. "I do however wish your advice."

"A second opinion can often illuminate an issue in unique ways," Shibi answered as he took a seat.

"Thank you." With a curt nod, the young Genin sat beside the man who's provided half his genetic make-up and whom he called father because of formalities. "I am growing tired of my relationship with Kiba. I will not trouble you with the details but it would not be inaccurate to say that our time together is becoming more stressful than pleasant."

"And you wish to know how I would handle such a situation?" Shino nodded. "Ultimately the decision is yours as you and you alone can say with certainty what your priorities are. I only ask to know if Kiba-san is causing you great distress or emotional pain." Shino shook his head no. "Then it is a question of expectations. How do you see this relationship? Is it symbiotic? Parasitic? Are you willing to sacrifice personal comfort?"

"I had surmised as much but thank you, father," the young bug user said to his elder. "I will give it more thought."

Shibi looked at his son for a moment. "Perhaps," he finally said, "you should seek the counsel of Uzumaki-san or Hyuuga-san. If I understand your relationship correctly, you value their friendship. Perhaps they can help resolve these issues you are having." Shino raised a curious eyebrow. It was unlike his father to say such a thing. "There is wisdom in all things," the boy's father explained. "And it is often those closest to us who share the deepest insights. Is there anything else, son?"

"No," answered Shino trying to digest his father's words. "Thank you, again, father."

* * *

"I just had sex," said a young pink haired girl no older than twelve to her companions, a short blond boy of about the same age. He stared at her blankly clearly unable to see what made this statement so important. "Well?!" the girl demanded looking increasingly flustered.

"You mean you hadn't?" the boy said somewhat stupidly. _Ok, I have got to get better at these sorts of conversations, _Naruto thought as he saw Sakura's emerald eyes widen in shock. "Well," Naruto said quickly praying this line of defense would be better than the ones before it. "You're always talking about how you and Sasuke are 'christening' his place. I figured that was just a fancy way of saying you were screwing."

"Blow jobs aren't sex, Naruto!" _Oh god,_ thought the blonde haired Genin as he realized just how this conversation was going to go. _I'm in one of those damned IchaIcha books, aren't I?_ "They're foreplay. And could you try to be a little happy for me. A girl only loses her cherry once."

"What about that vampire girl in that book you're always trying to get me to read?" Naruto had come to the decisions long ago that if Sakura was going to share every intimate detail of her relations with that annoying dark haired brat, he was going to be as annoying as possible. "And how do you even have a cherry to pop with all those damn toys you had me steal? By the way, pretty sure Sasuke using them to get you off counts as sex." The pair had met a few blocks away from Naruto's favorite place in all of Konoha, the Ichiraku Ramen Stand. Sakura in her bright pink outfit and long pink hair looked distinctly out of place in the trash filled street. More than one person had stopped to stare at her and the orange jumpsuit wearing Genin who she argued with.

"Keep your voice down," hissed the pink haired Kunoichi as she noticed an elderly woman watching them. "I'd rather the whole of Konoha not know my private life, thanks." The girl inhaled deeply. Naruto knew this would only mean more trouble for him. "I need a favor."

"What kind of favor?" he asked his eyes narrowed.

"The kind nii-sans do for their sweet adorable nee-chan!" Sakura said brightly. The blonde Genin could only groan. "Ok, look, me and Sasuke- we – ugh – we didn't use protection."

"And you want me to get some for you," Naruto finished. He knew why Sakura would come to him and not either of her parents for something like this. With what her father had done, Konoha's jinchuuriki knew the man wasn't someone Sakura would never feel comfortable around. What's more he would likely use his daughter's active sex life to discredit what she had said about him. It had nothing to do with anything but with the kinds of assumptions people made about woman and sex, the child molester could use it against his soon to be ex-wife in their divorce proceedings and possibly lift the probation period the Hokage had placed him under. Naruto doubted his JiJi would ever do something like that but there was still the rest of the Shinobi Review Board. Kurenai-sensei had long since taught him never to count on a group of people making the right decision. There were probably similar fears with Sakura's mother. The woman would never abandon her daughter but it's too easy to lie to one's self. "Alright, Sakura, just hang out for a bit. I'll be back before ya know."

And sure enough, he was except that he'd borrowed the likeness of an older man with thick eyebrows. Smiling, he handed a small shopping bag to the pink haired Kunoichi. "Condoms for a month, the morning after pill and some lubricant in case Sasuke can't warm ya up quick enough," he said with a wink. Sakura giggled.

"Trust me that isn't a problem," she murmured as she looked through the contents of the bag. Sakura looked up to see Naruto was once again Naruto and gave him a deep hug. "Thanks, Naruto, you're a life saver."

The jinchuuriki returned the embrace. It was nice seeing Sakura smile. "That's what nii-sans are for," he told her as he planted an affectionate kiss on her forehead. This usually routine gesture was made somewhat awkward by the blonde Genin having to stand on the tips of his toes to reach the girl's forehead. Finding the sight of this amusing, Sakura laughed and hugged Naruto even harder. "Hey!" Naruto said as the pink haired Kunoichi turned their embrace into a tight bear hug. "Let go!"

"You're so cute!" she said ignoring the request. "Like a life sized plushie!"

"I ain't a plushie," Naruto objected. "Now let go you pink-haired psycho!" The two tusseled for a few moments as the blond jinchuuriki freed himself from the pink-haired Genin's surprisingly strong grip. Muttering dark word, he set off to walk the few remaining blocks with a giggling Sakura in tow. "The usual, Teuchi," Naruto told the middle aged man behind the counter.

Teuchi nodded at Naruto before turning to his companion. "And for the little lady?"

"Oh, nothing, thanks." Sakura shook her head before explaining how she had started a strict diet program and how ramen was simply too high in fats and sodium. She needed oils and fats to keep her skin looking young, but ramen's levels were simply too much. With a raised eyebrow, Teuchi shrugged and asked if she would like anything to drink. "Vitamin water," Sakura answered brightly. Not sure what that was but remembering his daughter had bought some of the funny colored water he withdrew into the back of his stand to where Ayame had stored them. "Arigatou!" the pink-haired kunoichi called out the older man before turning to Naruto. "So… made a move on Hinata, yet?"

The blonde Genin coughed, choking on the noodles in his mouth. "Wh-what?" he managed finally. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Cuz she's crazy about you," answered Sakura as she accepted the pink drink Teuchi had offered her. "Oh my god, the way she stutters around you? That girl has it baaaad."

"Shut up," Naruto hissed. "You don't know anything!"

This only seemed to encourage his "innocent nee-chan" more. "Ohhhhhhhh and she's so moe! I bet she has huge ones underneath that jacket she's always wearing. One of those shy girls with tits for days and ass to spare."

"Sakura-chan," Naruto pleaded. "please stop."

"And her voice!" There was a mad glimmer in the kunoichi's eyes. In future years Naruto would come to view it in the same way he would view Killer Intent. It was always better to think of somewhere else to be than at that place at that specific moment in time. These were not future years however much his present self needed them to be, so the young shinobi was entirely unawares. "I bet she'd say Naruto-kun the whole time. 'N-N-Naruto-kun," Sakura mimicked. "'You're-you're so big. Please be gentle. I-I've never done something like this before.' Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh." Sakura began squealing and shaking her head. "You have to ask her out, Naruto. Your onee-chan commands it!"

"My onee-chan is crazy," muttered Naruto into his bowl of ramen. "And fucking nosy."

"Huh? Don't tell me my little Naru-kun is still a boy." If there was a god, they certainly were not on the side of Uzumaki Naruto. In fact they seemed to delight in the boy's discomfort. "Haven't you ever taken a peak at that hot young body after a day of training? Noticed how the mesh sticks to every curve?" He had and was very much trying not to think of those things right now. "Heard her short soft moans and gasps for air? Seen the girls bounce as she moves, showing you and just you all the best angles?" Flushed cheeks may never get hot enough to fry an egg but Naruto's were as close as it was humanly possible to get. "That got ya hot didn't it?" Yes, yes it had. The blond Genin would likely have to sit there for a good while before it was safe to walk again. Curse that orange jumpsuit.

Satisfied with her work Sakura smiled. "She is crazy about you," she told the Genin trying to occupy his mind with different handsigns. The pink-haired kunoichi's expression softened until she truly could have been the boy's sister. "The way she looks at you, how she hangs on everything you say. You don't notice but Hinata gets lost in your stories. It's like just being around you makes her stronger. But what do I know? I'm just a pink-haired psycho, right? See ya tomorrow, Naruto. Think about what I said." Sakura stood, leaving Naruto alone with his blossoming puberty, conflicted emotions and bill.

"She's got a point," Teuchi said with a small smile. Over the years he'd come to accept Naruto as the son he'd lost on the night of the Yondaime's death. "That girl, Hinata, she's got it bad for you. I've seen how she looks at you. That's how I used to look at my wife." In all the years he had come to know the Ichiraku stand as a respite away from the cold glares that greeted him wherever he went, Naruto had only heard Teuchi mention his wife a handful of times. He knew those memories were painful, the sweet kind of painful that fills your heart with nostalgia. For them to be brought up now…

"It's not that I don't like her," the blond Genin said as his chopsticks traced circles around his bowl. "'Nata-chan is so… amazing. Every day with her is like the last twelve years of my life never happened. I can sleep when she's near, Teuchi-san. I don't have bad dreams. There are no people yelling at me, calling me demon. There's no one holding me down while I try to scream. Have you ever heard her laugh?" The older man nodded. "Then you know. Hinata, she's the sun. I know about- about what's in me. And I know she wouldn't care, I'd still be Naruto-kun to her."

"But…"

"What would her life with me be like?" There was clear desperation in the young boy's voice. He looked up at the man he'd accepted as a surrogate father, his ocean eyes beginning to fill with tears. "What would any woman's life with me be like? Their parents ditching them? The whole village hating them for being with the monster that killed the Yondaime? How can I do that to someone, Teuchi-san? How can I make their life like mine just so I can have a little happiness?"

Teuchi wiped the sweat from his forehead. With a sigh he repeated the words of his deceased wife. The same words she'd shared when he'd begged to know the same thing as the small boy in front of him. "That's not your decision to make."

* * *

Once again Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in his office reviewing team rosters and mission assignments. It had been a particularly stressful day. One of his subordinates, a Chuunin who had shown promising potential for Jounin selection, was accused of molesting his twelve year old daughter. To make matters worse the girl was a Genin fresh out of the Academy and the mother was a prominent member of the Civilian Council. There had been so much case law to work through; the old man had spent the last month digging through it all with the help of his two aides only to discover that the one precedent for a case like this had ended in the accused dying on a mission so nothing the Elders had argued was written down. The Hokage was on his own, and with the political climate what it was, he doubted anything he decided would help the situation.

Under the Uchiha Peace Keeping Authority the deep resentment that had flowered inside the other Elemental Nations between shinobi and non-shinobi (culminating in The Great Coup in the Land of Iron where the kenjutsu masters called Samurais had toppled the Kage of the region giving all control to its daimyo) had been kept underfoot. The Uchiha, almost as much as the Senju, had been beloved by the civilians of Konohagakure. The passion, flare and natural charisma that came to Uchihas made them seem mysterious, almost otherworldly. "Return to your homes," a Uchiha security officer would say to a gathered mob and no matter how terrible their anger had been, they would disband as quickly as they had formed.

But now there were no Uchihas to keep the peace. And the last Senju was off gambling away every last coin that had once belonged to that famous family. So now rather than the case before him being a question of which court had jurisdiction, it was a power struggle between the Shinobi of the village and the Civilian Council. The Shinobi demanded the right to discipline their own for a crime committed against another of their ranks. The Council demanded the right to try a citizen of Konoha who was a potential threat to the rest of its citizens and who had acted against a minor._ Minors!_ Thought Hiruzen as he took a long draw from his pipe. The very concept was so new in this era. Before, once a child had reached puberty they were old enough to start their own family and own property like someone three times their age. Now though, and it was difficult not cursing himself for allowing the council to pass such a law, a citizen of Konoha who had not attained twenty-one years of age was still under the protection of the Civilian Council.

He didn't hate the law, it had been instrumental in protecting thousands of displaced youths from the clans always looking to bolster their numbers with new servants and foot soldiers. Even now he thought it one of Minato's better decisions. Still, this was all a headache his old body could do without. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. A short woman with long blonde hair bowed announcing he had one last visitor for the day. "Send them in," said the Hokage as he removed his thick reading glasses. A tall, dark haired woman with red eyes stepped in. "Kurenai, and here I thought you had forgotten about this old fool." With a sultry smile, the Jounin walked up to Hiruzen's desk each step accenting the light sway of her hips. "Thank you, Umi. You may leave for the night." The blonde haired woman bowed again before making her way out of the large circular room.

"Are you sure, she's who Danzo has spying on you," asked Kurenai as she casually sat herself beside one of the many mounds of paper that made up the Hokage's work load. "It's just so obvious. Pretty little blonde secretary with the wide ass. I thought your old teammate had more finesse than that."

Hiruzen waved a hand dismissively. "I don't have the best reputation with women, as you know from our first encounter." She did. Seven years ago Kurenai had been standing by her usual street corner waiting for one of her regular clients when the old man had approached her. As a rule, Kurenai never took on a man whose income was that far above her price range. The idea of "slumming" annoyed her to no end and she had no desire to put up with some rich guy's awkward fumbles _and _sense of self-importance all in one night. But Sarutobi Hiruzen just seemed to know all the right words and she broke her rule that night, the following week and another three times before he asked her to entertain a visiting diplomat. She had, having grown accustomed to the new money, and when Hiruzen began absentmindedly asking questions about their night she'd thought it innocent curiosity.

Kurenai was no longer so gullible as to assume innocence whenever Konoha's Shadow of Fire was involved. If Danzo was a snake, ever watchful, looking to strike before being struck, than Hiruzen was a clever chimp whose deft hands would steal the floor out from under you if you looked away. "The usual?" she asked reaching over to stroke his leg. The old man nodded and Kurenai dropped in between his legs. With a few quick movements, Hiruzen's sex was exposed and taken into the mouth of the young woman. "Thanks for showering this time," she said sarcastically as she brought him to a full erection.

"Anything for you, sweetheart," Hiruzen said with a laugh. Kurenai could only roll her eyes. What exactly did she see in him? Besides the amazing tongue. "Hmmm… women are like wine, they only get better with age," he murmured as the beauty between kneeling in front of him nibbled on the end of his shaft. It was slow work but that was the kind Hiruzen liked best. A beautiful woman bringing him to edge, then back again and again until he lost control of himself. He rarely had that chance anymore. Sure there had been those golden years during Minato's Reign but those were well behind him. Now he couldn't so much as visit a burlesque parlor without having to keep both eyes over his shoulder.

"All done!" Kurenai said brightly as she swallowed and hopped onto his lap. "I think you've lost some of your staying power in your old age, Hiruzen. What was that? Ten minutes, maybe?"

"You're just getting better at this," the Hokage replied pinching a nipple through her silk clothes.

"Sure. And that wise crack about my age was a compliment. The old man nodded with a small smile on his face. "You know I'm only twenty-five, right? Or is any girl over eighteen suddenly old now?"

"Yes, well, that's when everything starts to sag…"

"You're lucky your cock's not in my mouth anymore." The strange couple laughed. "Any idea how you're going to solve the Haruno mess?"

"No." Even with the amazing red-eyed woman sitting on his lap, Hiruzen couldn't help but sigh. "I don't want to diminish the scope of the Child Protection Act but the Clan Heads won't hear of it. Because the victim was a Shinobi they demand the right, if not to discipline the attacker, than to avenge the victim."

"Sakura hadn't completed a mission when the assault happened," Kurenai suggested as she stroked Hiruzen's small beard. "She wasn't really a Shinobi when her father assaulted her."

"I tried that too. I've found three cases where it came down to missions, one where it came down to first kill (The Hyuugas and Uchihas have too much in common, sweetest), and four where it came down to if they had been accepted by a Jounin as his students." The old man looked at his mistress of the last seven years with a frown. "All four of which were under my previous rule so they are the most relevant today. I would be seen as overruling myself by all of the Clans and I have a weak enough hold on them as is."

"So why not make a new precedent? Split the difference; have the shinobi of the village investigate the crime and the civilian court hold the trial. Spin it as some checks and balance crap. You could use it to play them off each other in the future."

Hiruzen considered the idea. "That ended poorly when the Second Kazekage tried it."

"Yeah but everyone hated him," Kurenai said as she stood and walked over to a cabinet. "This whole village sees you as their loving grandfather. Most Shinobi think your kindness keeps you from disciplining the civilians the way most Kages would and the civilians all think it's us ninjas whispering evil thoughts into your ear." Kurenai once again sat herself on Hiruzen's desk except now she was draining a small sake bottle. "Hell, they're already jockeying for your affection. This'll just give them one more place to do it."

"I love a woman with brains and beauty," laughed Hiruzen as he watched the woman the village had dubbed The Spider. When he'd met her she'd just been some streetwalker with a talent for getting men to tell her things they shouldn't. Seven years later she was a Jounin with a spy network to match Jiraiya's. _And he's noticeably less pleasant to look at._ "So what's all the latest gossip?"

"Same as always," Kurenai said with a sigh. "Life sucks then you get a kunai to the chest… I heard rumors about Itachi but nothing definite. He's part of some shadowy group now. Not that unusual for missing-nins to band together, better protection but I've heard two names dropped besides his and those guys are trouble. Sasori and Kisame."

"He's fallen far, hasn't he?" murmured Hiruzen. Itachi, alongside Kakashi, had been one of the ANBU Captains he'd been grooming as his successors. They had both shown such remarkable skill, such sharp cutting minds and such great compassion he knew Konoha would be safe under them. But then, like always, Danzo was there to spoil everything. "Have you learned anything about their intentions?" Kurenai only shook her head. "That's it?"

"I can make something up if you like," she responded coldly. _Calm down, my sweet,_ thought Hiruzen. _Anger doesn't suit that pretty face._

"What else?" asked the old man hoping to change topics.

"I have an inlking suspicion I know where all the Uchiha eyes went…" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Danzo."

"Well, I figured that-"

"No, I mean he's using them," explained Kurenai. "Or one of them at least. He has mind influencing abilities like Kakashi. I noticed it when I sat in on that meeting with Iwagakure. –thanks for the invite, by the way – And I noticed the longer it went on the more compliant they became."

"He never makes eye contact," Hiruzen objected. "The Sharigan's Genjutsu doesn't function without eye contact."

"The Genjutsu technique is identical to Kakashi's in every respect but that," Kurenai replied with a shrug. "I don't know how he worked around it but if anyone could figure out a trick like that it'd be that walking corpse. The good news is now we actually have something on the fucker."

Hiruzen frowned. "It's not a crime to keep a valuable doujutsu from disappearing."

"Stop talking about law all the time," hissed Kurenai as she finished her drink. "Think. How're the Hyuugas gonna handle this? Or the Aburame? Or any of the Clans? Spin it, old man, that's one thing you're good at. Danzo is being held for suspicion he's gathering Kekkei Genkais from the Clans for unknown reasons. In order to protect the integrity of the Clans of the Hidden Leaf blahblahblah. I'm sure you can fill in the blanks."

Sarutobi Hiruzen inhaled deeply. "Do you think he would do something like that?" he asked as he turned in his chair to watch the sunset over Konoha. A contemptuous snort from the woman behind him was all the answer he needed. "He wasn't always like this, you know. Years and years ago…"

"Like you?" Kurenai's remark cut through him and suddenly he felt every decade of his long life. She was right. Did he sound as hollow as he felt when he spoke about the Will of Fire? "We all do things we need to, Hiruzen. Don't go backing out on me now just because you don't fit the heroes in the storybooks. Your village still needs you." He noticed how she hadn't said 'she' needed him. _No,_ he realized looking back at the young woman as if it was his first time seeing her. _She doesn't. Not anymore and she knows it. When did this relationship change? Wasn't it just a few years ago I was holding you, promising you whatever happened I wouldn't ever throw you away like your family had?_ _That you weren't just an informant for me to take advantage of?_

"I'm fine, Kurenai," the old man said with a small smile. "I have a surprise for you." It was Kurenai's turn to raise a curiuous eyebrow. "Remember how I decided to send Kakashi's team on a C- Ranked mission?"

"To get Sakura away from all the politics and the divorce proceedings…"

The old man's smile grew. "Well as it happens there's a second mission available. A Retrieval Mission. I figured you'd enjoy the opportunity to show what your team can do." If the smile on her face was anything to go by, the young woman did. "This was meant for a Chuunin team so your kids had better be ready for this."

"They are," Kurenai said kissing Hiruzen on the lips. "Thank you, Hiruzen. You're the greatest." She could still make his heart melt. Maybe she hadn't changed as much as he feared. "I'll get them prepped and we'll leave first thing in the morning."

The difference between the face Kurenai wore as she took the mission scroll and the one she donned as she stepped out into the streets was the difference between night and day. One was filled with gratitude while the other was completely empty. A large crow landed behind her, its red eyes looking pointedly at the woman in front of it. "Naruto will be there," she said with a sigh. "If _anything _happens to him, I'll hold you responsible." The crow's wings beat against the air as he flew back into the dusk sky.

* * *

***I think that's from Dexter but I just went through Darkly Dreaming Dexter and can't find it. Maybe it's from the TV show.**

**Anyway, that's chapter 6. Feel free to share any thoughts you have on the story. I'm trying to decide if I wanna do a poly relationship with Naruto and Hinata. I really don't think she'd ever be comfortable with something like that so right now I'm leaning towards no. As interesting as that would be to write, I haven't any first hand experience what that kind of lifestyle so it'd likely be hollow.**

**Let me know if you guys wanna see a lemon.**


	7. A C-Ranked Mission

**Sorry about the wait. Work and life gotta pretty hectic. That and I got the worst case of writer's block where I couldn't past two or three sentences at a time. Hope you guys like.**

**Are there any beta readers out there who'd be willing to review the story for me? I would definitely love the help and as you can see I could use a pair of critical eyes.**

* * *

"So what's the mission, Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto asked as Team 8 made their way through the woods outside of Konoha. For the last hour of their journey the group had been discussing meaningless stories about their lives, a precaution Shino had suggested and Kurenai thought had enough conventional wisdom in it to humor. The ever thinking young Aburame reasoned it was best to keep as low a profile as possible as they travelled near the main road that led into Konoha to prevent sensitive information from inadvertently falling into enemy hands. Having done this numerous times before, the team's Jounin knew there was nothing to fear. Not only were the woods crawling with ANBU, summons and other Konoha ninjas, the few companies trusted enough to perform deliveries to any of the Hidden Villages were too terrified to risk jeopardizing their work and (more importantly) the incredible amounts of money they made by upsetting any of the villages. Besides, if they did leak info whoever they leaked it to would probably kill them to keep the bad blood away. No one was in any position to fight a 4thGreat Shinobi War.

"Is someone getting beat up or beat down?" The Jounin turned her head to look at the hyperactive blonde grinning up at her.

"Neither," she said with a smile. "In fact, if we're seen the mission will be deemed a failure and we don't get paid." Naruto could not have looked more shocked if his sensei had told him he was six months pregnant with Sasuke's child. Her smile broadened. "Should be fun, right, Naruto?" Another look of complete disbelief. The small Genin raised his hand as if to say something but the words must have garbled themselves in his throat. All that came out was a near unintelligible noise that Kurenai imagined was probably where the earliest precursors to 'What?!' came from. "Is something wrong, Naruto?" The young boy's expression reminded her of an old machine that just wouldn't start; you could see the gears begin to rotate but with a different stoppage at each point there was never more than one turn before everything shut down again.

"Naruto," the young Aburame's voice seemed to reach some deep part of the blonde's consciousness possibly reflecting the close bond they had formed. At any rate it was enough to get him to turn his head. "You did _read _the mission, didn't you?" _No. Why does he always ask me shit he knows the answer to? _"The West Spice Company is transporting goods across the marshes of Wave Country. Included in this transport will be the trade manifests detailing the company's records, shipping routes, employee salaries and other delicate information useful to any of their competitors. We are to obtain copies of the manifests and deliver them to one of our employer's contacts in a small hamlet within Wave Country. The client has explicitly forbidden that we be seen at any point during the operation. Do you understand?" Naruto nodded slowly, his brain finally functioning again. "Good. This is the perfect mission for us. We are all stealth and tracking specialists and this will prove to be a good test of our abilities."

"You are all _training_ to be stealth and tracking specialists," corrected Kurenai. Her voiced matched the gravitas in her face. "You are not specialists yet. It is foolish, Shino, to make any proclamation of your abilities before you know your enemies."

"Of course, Kurenai-sensei," replied the Aburame with a bow of his head. His mother had said similar many times to him. It was her most often repeated rule.

"K-Kurenai-sensei," Hinata said tentatively. "The-the mission scroll didn't say anything a-about the movements of the West Spice Company. How-how're we supposed to find them?"

"By looking!" the Jounin replied brightly. Team 8 looked at her then at each other and let out a collective sigh. Kurenai had been a brilliant instructor always ready to point out ways in which they could improve but the woman seemed to alternate between manipulative sociopath and complete flake at the drop of a hat. Naruto had theorized Kurenai was secretly two different people inhabiting the same body; a YamiKurenai and HikariKurenai. HikariKurenai had been the true Kurenai until she'd discovered a powerful ancient artifact that had forced the soul of an ancient empress into her body. The empress was not an evil woman but she had suffered through so many wars over the millenniums her heart had grown hard. HikariKurenai often relied on the power of YamiKurenai but also inspired kindness in her darker half. Shino had called this the stupidest thing he had ever heard. Hinata had silently agreed.

"There's a small inn not far from here," Kurenai told her team. "We can ask around there." 'Small' is a subjective term, Team 8 observed when they reached the inn their sensei had described. It was easily large enough to house a hundred guests in a single night which, to the three children, was much more than what "inn" implied."Ohayo!"Kurensai called out to an armored man standing by the door. "Is that new armor, Kiachi-kun? It looks good on you! Very fearsome." The armored man grunted before opening the door. "Arigatou!" If there was a ninja equivalent for the stock Spaghetti Western bar this inn had to be it. As far as the eye could see there were masked figures, cloaked figures, swords, polearms and giant shuriken. On each table there was enough alcohol to drop a grown man and enough kunai to finish him. _So this is why Kurenai-sensei rejected my suggestion to hide who we are,_ thought Shino as the group made their way to a table. _Everyone would know regardless just from how we comport ourselves. But why would she bring us to a place like this?_

"Lookie what we got here," said a rough voice. A teenage ninja with the mark for Kumokagure across his hitai-ate had taken hold of Hinata's forearm. "Mommy know you're out this far from home?" The Aburame and Uzumaki turned to look at him while Hinata stared pointedly at the floor. Naruto didn't know why but it looked as if his teammate was shivering. She had always been a somewhat nervous girl but now more than ever she seemed to be truly terrified.

"Get your hand off her," Naruto snapped at the Kumo-nin.

"Afraid I'm gonna kidnap your little girlfriend?" laughed the teen ninja. He tightened his grip on the girl who at this point had broken out in a cold sweat. "What do you guys think?" the Kumo-nin said to his companions, two Kumo-nins about his age. "Think we could find a use for this scrawny thing?" It was then that Hinata finally moved. Her free hand shot forward, striking the joint of the Kumo-nin's closest shoulder. With a cry, the teen let go of the young preteen, his good arm reaching out to return the strike. The Hyuuga's steps would have looked rehearsed if it weren't for the clear fear on her face. It was almost as if she were acting out of instinct and instinct alone as she stepped into the larger nin's blow allowing it to glance harmlessly off her raised forearm. In the same motion, Hinata delivered another crippling strike this time on the attacking arm. Normally the kind girl would have stopped there but today… today she continued to strike at every vulnerable point on the Kumo-nin's body. Soon he was just a punching bag swaying back and forth as Hinata struck it, the chair he'd risen from now preventing him from falling.

"Get-!" the second Kumo-nin had begun before Naruto and two of his clones jumped on him, knocking the ninja off his seat. With their target pinned, each clone took hold of the enemy nin's thumbs, bending them until they broke. "Ahh!" The ninja yelled as Naruto held a kunai to his throat.

"Don't move!" ordered the blonde Genin.

"Knock it off!" yelled a feminine voice. Naruto looked up to see a blonde woman with short hair approaching them. "I'm sure he did something to deserve that but he'll be needing those thumbs, kid. Mind getting off him?" The woman's black eyes met the boy's blue. For a moment neither could look away as each felt something inside them roar. "Thank you for not killing him," she said. There was a sharp edge to her voice that Naruto didn't like. It was the same way the villagers talked to him whenever something happened. Like they actually thought he might kill someone for fun and it were only a matter of time before he did.

"These yours?"Kurenai's voice brought her students back to their senses. Hinata jumped back, quickly whispering 'gomen!' to the downed Kumo-nin while Naruto stood up. Shino, being Shino, was standing perfectly still watching several hundred bee like insects surround the third Kumo-nin. This third nin seemed to have more sense than his two fallen teammates, choosing to glare at the Konoha ninjas rather than actually fight. "Sorry about that," the Jounin said to her blonde counterpart. "It's their first time outside the village and they're a bit jumpy."

The blonde Kumo-nin snorted. "Ya hear that?" she said contempt on every syllable. "You got beat by three kids who probably got their headbands yesterday. How long have you fucks been doing this, now?- Quit your goddamn bitching, Rokuro! Your fucking thumbs are fine. I woulda cut your damn hands off." The boy Naruto stood over immediately ceased his quiet wailing. He may have been an enemy moments ago, but the young Konoha ninja couldn't stop himself from feeling bad about what had just happened. "Leave him!" ordered the Kumo-Jounin. She fixed Naruto with a gaze that dared him to defy her.

"Please," Kurenai said smiling at the black eyed woman. "Let the boy help. He should learn not to break things he can't fix." The Kumo-woman's expression grew harder. "No? Ah well, sorry to trouble you. Come along," the Konoha Jounin said to her three charges. All three students stole one final glance at the Kumo ninjas before following their sensei further into inn. Once they were out of sight the lone uninjured Kumogakure Genin whistled.

"You guys really know how pick fights, don't ya?" he said not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice. "Let's challenge a Hyuuga and two entirely unknown leaf ninjas to a fucking fight. Not like we don't have enough bullshit to deal with."

"Fuck off," spat the ninja who'd taken hold of Hinata's arm. "I just wanted a good look at her was all. I didn't even do anything. Crazy bitch just attacked me. All leaf ninjas this crazy, Yugito-sensei?" The dark eye woman turned slowly, a gesture that seemed to cause no small level of apprehension in her subordinates.

"If any of you ever try to challenge another jinchuuriki again, I won't raise a finger as they rip your heart still beating out of your chest."

"You ok, Hinata," Naruto asked the blue haired girl who walked beside him.

"Can we- can we head outside, Naruto-kun?" she asked struggling to keep her voice controlled. Her body was still shaking slightly and there was a wild look in her eyes.

"Yeah, of course." The pair excused themselves leaving Shino alone with Kurenai.

"Kurenai-sensei," the thirteen year old said slowly. "Do you have any idea why Hinata would behave that way. It's very much unlike her."

The Jounin sighed. "I have a couple ideas but… she'll tell you when she's ready. C'mon. We need to track down some contacts."

* * *

"What's wrong, 'Nata-chan?" Naruto asked the pale eyed girl beside him. The two sat underneath a tree, Hinata with her head down and knees raised to her chest and Naruto with a concerned hand on his friend's shoulder. "You know you can trust me."

"I know," she whispered not taking her eyes off the ground. The young girl so desperately wanted to be able to draw strength from the hand on her shoulder but today she couldn't. Memories she'd let go of were coming back to her and all she could feel was _his_ hand on her shoulder, moving up to her mouth so that she couldn't scream. How long ago was that? Seven years ago and still it made her act so foolishly. While on a mission, no less. _What must Kurenai-sensei think of me? _wondered Hinata as Naruto pulled her head into his chest. Wrapping her arms around the blonde's familiar torso, the Hyuuga tried to let her teammate's comforting scent calm her thoughts. The mix of fried pork, noodles and grass had been where she'd run to these last three months. Naruto never turned her away.

"If you don't wanna talk, we can just sit here until Kurenai-sensei calls us in." Konoha's jinchuuriki said, stroking the girl's face. His hand gently brushed away the hair that lay on her cheek masking that porcelain white skin. "We don't ever have to do anything you don't want to, 'Nata-chan." She knew. Naruto had never pushed her beyond where she wanted to go. Sure there were the nights where her muscles ached and her head told her she would never do it right and Naruto was there insisting even despite her tears she could keep going. But those were the nights where they'd laugh and he'd say 'I told you so.' Those were the best nights, the one where she could take in the smell of his sweaty body and cuddle close to him until she fell asleep.

"No I-I do," Hinata said into Naruto's chest. "It- I-" Kami, where would she even start?With the attack seven years ago? With the Genin from Kumo? Or would she have to start with her uncle and cousin? "Naruto, when-when I was eight a man from Kumo came to visit my father on a diplomatic mission. He-he seemed really nice. He offered me and Hanabi sweets from his pocket whenever Otou-san wasn't `looking. I thought I was so clever hiding me and Hanabi until it was just us and the man from Kumo. One day, I-I heard him and Otou-san discussing wedding proposals. I didn't know what they meant back then but now- now I think the Kumo-nin wanted me or Hinabi to marry a Kumogakure ninja. He was saying how the Hyuuga family could expand across multiple Hidden Villages and that the wealth of Kumo offered great opportunities for powerful families."

"Your father refused him?" Naruto asked. Hinata nodded against his chest.

"Otou-san said The Hyuuga were Konoha's as they had been under the Second and Third Hokages. He would not turn his back on that. The Kumo-nin smiled and thanked father for his hospitality. Father offered to allow the man to spend the night and he accepted." Hinata stopped as the memory came back to her. "Oh, kami," the girl almost wept. "I'm stupid. So stupid."

"'Nata, why do you say those things about yourself?"

"Because they're true! Everything's my fault. I'm the reason Neji-kun lost his father, the reason Otou-san lost his brother, the reason my family is broken."

Naruto's hand wiped away the tears now flowing down Hinata's face. "Tell me what happened," he said.

"I saw the man from Kumo as he left the tea room. He smiled at me and asked if I wanted more candy. I said yes, Kumo candy was delicious. I wanted more. He said if I met him in his room that night he could take me to Kumogakure where I could have all the candy I wanted. I-I-I went. After it was dark and everyone was asleep I snuck into his room. He was waiting there smiling at me. He said he was very happy I had chosen to come with him. I asked if Otou-san and Hanabi-chan could come with us. He said he had to leave soon and it would take too long to get them but that I could write once we got to Kumogakure. I said no, it would only take a moment to get Hanabi-chan. I turned to go back and that's when I felt his hand on my shoulder. I tried to turn to tell him it was ok. It would only take a minute but he- he put his hand over my mouth and started shaking me. Naruto," the young Hyuuga looked up into the blonde jinchuuriki's cerulean eyes. "I was so scared. I prayed for kami to kill him. For Otou-san, Oji-san, Neji-kun for anyone to kill him."

Naruto felt anger rising in him. The young Genin found himself wishing he could have been in that room seven years ago so he could have been the one to grant Hinata's wish. But he knew that instinct wouldn't help anyone. At least it had never helped him. The anger just left him cold inside. "Hinata, you were a kid," Naruto told her gently. "And he was hurting you-"

"You don't understand," snapped Hinata as she pulled away. "You just don't! No one ever does. They just talk to me like I don't know what happened. Like I don't know all of it was my fault!"

"Say what you need to say," the small blonde said to the blue haired girl. "I won't say anything until you're finished, 'Nata-chan. Believe it." She did. Allowing the boy to pull her back into an embrace, she traced a finger along the contours of his chest.

"Otou-san came and he-he began beating the man. I'd never seen him so angry. The whole- the whole time I was- I was cheering, Naruto-kun. I was happy the Kumo-nin was suffering. I wanted to help Otou-san kill him except I was still so afraid I couldn't move. Later- later the Elders met with Hokage-sama. Hokage-same he-he said Kumo denied everything. They said they were willing to go to war over the death of their diplomat and would only relent if Otou-san- if Otou-san paid with his life. He said yes, he would if it meant continued peace for Konoha. I cried all day that day. Oji-san came to see me in my room. He said he knew how I felt and wanted to be there for me. So- So I told him everything. How I thought it wasn't fair I had to lose Kaa-san and Otou-san. I yelled and screamed and begged him to do something to stop it. To convince Otou-san not to do it. He said he would and kissed my forehead."

"What happened to him?" asked Naruto his mouth now dry. The young Genin had never seen Hinata's uncle.

"He took Otou-san's place. They're twins." Hinata cried softly into Naruto's chest. "I made him promise. I was so selfish I took Neji-kun's father away and Otou-san's brother. Otou-san stopped smiling then and Neji-kun knew. He knew I was the one who sent his father away to die. He's never forgiven me. I don't blame him…"

Naruto sat there against the rough bark of the tree letting the young girl cry. "'Nata-chan," he whispered pulling her closer against him. "Please don't cry." _No. That's not right. _"I'm sorry. Cry if you need to. I won't let go until you're done."

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata said in voice lower than a whisper. She was looking up at him now with a look Naruto couldn't identify. Her breathing was slightly off and her lips were parted. "Naruto-kun…" Again that strange look. Naruto couldn't help but noticing the rise and fall of her chest as she pressed herself against him. The boy could feel his own breathing shift and his hands slightly shake as he took the girl by her shoulders.

"Mood ruining cough." The two startled preteens looked up to see the tall frame of their teammate and the uncontrolled giggling of their sensei.

"Shino!"Kurenai said through laughs. "That was so rude! Who knows how far Hinata could have gotten Naruto if we waited a little longer. Maybe she could've made it to second base!" The Jounin whispered in her most scandalous voice to the boy standing beside her. A voice that was obviously meant to be loud enough for the two Genin sitting under the tree to hear. If her goal was to make Hinata blush a deep red and retreat into the safety of her coat, well, mission accomplished.

"Oh?" Shino said in his dry voice. "My apologies, Hinata. I only wished to alert you two to my presence but couldn't seem to muster up a proper cough. I trust you two found me adequately intrusive."

"What do you want?" asked a very annoyed Naruto. If there was one thing the blonde hated more than being interrupted, it was having to watch someone who he knew wouldn't defend themselves get teased. It just smacked of unfairness to him even when he knew it was good natured. "This had better be mission related."

"Of course it is." It was Kurenai who had answered. "The West Spice Company is traveling towards Nami no Kuni. Supposedly someone's building a great bridge there and they want to be the first ones on the other side. Looks like they're hoping to get an exclusive trade deal. That works well enough for us. The client is in Nami no Kuni, so this whole mission gets tied up in a neat little bow!"

* * *

"These rich guys gotta be the biggest pansies in the world," laughed a burly looking man carrying a sword and small shield. He stood beside a much thinner man carrying a bow as tall as he at the edge of the small encampment made by the West Spice Company's hired mercenaries. "Hiring all us just to visit some tiny little village at the edge of this country. What're they thinking? This cargo's not worth half what they're payin' us. Makes no sense, Wedge."

The man called Wedge lit a cigarette taking in the cool night air. "I dunno." His voice was low and raspy. He had the distinct appearance of a man who spoke very little and spent too much time away from the sun. "The way I see it, see, these rich guys are lookin' at it from the long haul, ya feel? They see this bridge and they think contracts. Lumber movin' out of Fire Country; pots; silk; food. All that stuff. Our bosses see that and they smart so they figure, 'hey, we get our foot in there first, we can run this whole joint.'"

The burly looking man frowned. Scratching his bushy beard he shook his head. "Nah. You wrong, Wedge," he said after a brief pause. "How's the daimyo gonna handle all us marching in there? I got big arms but I wouldn't want a whole army after me."

Wedge shook his head thumping his companion's chest with a finger. "See, that's the real egg right there, Biggs. _Ain't no armies in Nami no Kuni._"Biggs' eyes widened in shock. "Now ya see it, doncha? Our bosses just want us to keep control of the bridge. Make friends with the locals and such. But me, me I'm real smart too. I figure, where's the real money at, ya feel? Who's lookin' out for Wedge?" Wedge had a manic look on his face. His greedy black eyes were shimmering in the light of the fire he and his companion had made. "That's always the question, innit? So I keep my ears real low, like a snake, waiting for something to come up. And it did, Biggs! It did!" Biggs leaned his head in closer to his friend. "Man named Gato. He's looking for boys to take the town. We can have anythin' we want so long as he gets his cut."

"Anythin' we want, Wedge?" Biggs asked, his eyes widening at the prospect of his fantasies becoming real. "Anythin'?"

"Anythin…" Wedge's answer was barely more than a whisper but the sinister undertone carried it across the night. Unseen by the two sellswords a figure just beyond the light of their fire ran through a series of handsigns. The figure did not speak a word, choosing instead to watch as oddly shaped butterflies gnawed their way out of his skin and into the night. "Butterflies?" said Wedge as the figure beyond the light brought his hands together again. "Hell you all come from? Ain'tno season for butterflies like you…" As one the butterflies beat their wings letting a strange powder descend onto the two men. It was Wedge who felt it first. "Oh, damn… " he murmured as sleep took him and he collapsed onto the ground. Biggs soon followed, landing top of his friend.

"Those bugs are fucking hacks, man," snarled Naruto. The Aburame had a somewhat smug look on his face as the two quickly donned the likeness of Wedge and Biggs. "Ok," 'Biggs' said in a somewhat strained voice. "How's this?" 'Wedge' shook his head. " this?"

"Better," answered 'Wedge' lifting a hand to his throat. "This one spoke such odd vernacular… Er- Biggs, just what does 'that's the real egg' mean?" 'Biggs shrugged.

"Maybe where we're from we like to hide eggs and mix them in with fake painted ones."

'Wedge' sighed. "Remind me never to be asking you questions again, Biggs." Shino seemed to be doing his best to get into character. "Ya got walnuts where your brains ought be."

"He ain't cockney," whispered Naruto with a small smile. Shino returned it and the two set off towards the main camp leaving the real Wedge and Biggs behind. Slowly the fire the two had started extinguished making it near impossible for someone to see the two bodies lying motionless on the ground. "Ya know, Wedge. I was feelin' sorry for them poor saps but now I'm thinkin' none of this couldn't happen to a better group!"

"Aye," muttered Shino as the two nodded at a group a guards they passed. "We'll make off easy enough."

"What're you two grinnin' about?" asked a dark skinned with a vicious scar across his face. Whatever blow he had survived that day had taken a good portion of his nose. "Found some other scheme that'll get you out of doing a real day's work?"

Shino and Naruto exchanged a look. _This is gonna be too easy,_ thought Naruto as he drew the sword he'd stolen from the real Biggs. "Yeah. We're gonna steal the Company's trade manifests and sell them to their competitors!"

The scarred men scowled at the two of them. "What're you blabberin' about? I should cut your damn tongue off for this kind of talk." He meant. Already the man reached for the mace at his side. If this continued there would be a fight. Which was exactly what Naruto and Shino were hoping for.

Smiling, Naruto adopted the fighting stance Kurenai had shown him the mercenaries in this region favored. As he lifted his sword as if to strike, the disguised Genin jabbed with his shield forcing the dark skinned man to jump back as he tried to draw his own weapon. "You're too slow," laughed Naruto as he swung his shield again. This time the wood of the shield connected with the temple of its target. Blood spurted out of the wound leaving red streaks where the man fell. "You don't take a hit too well, neither."

"C'mon. We got work to do," grunted the disguised Shino. Appearance was easy enough for the Aburame. It was just a question of getting the right proportions and build. Voices, mannerism and idiosyncrasies were a different beast all together. Being a generally detached human being, emulating others just didn't come naturally. _At least Naruto knows how to sell this,_ thought Shino as the two made their way through the camp. Pick a fight here and there, make it look like they were up to something, then bolt when Kurenai gave the signal. _Speaking of which, she and Hinata should be in position by now._

Away from the fight the disguised pair of Genin had caused a dark haired woman was dancing in front of a large crowd. They'd built a small stage for her with torches all around it illuminating the exotic beauty's performance. As the skirt of her dress rose to reveal her long slender legs, the men cheered each promising to show her a better night than the man before -drunk men shoved their less sober counterparts away every time she danced to their corner of the stage. "Gives us a kiss, love!" shouted a man from the very front row. He had a long beard braided all the way to his chest.

"Now, now," Kurenai said with a small accent. "Behave yourself. How would your friends act if only you got kisses?" She stopped her dance and gave the man an exaggerated pout.

"They can all go sod off," laughed the bearded man. He extended a hand to Kurenai who seemed to give the offer some consideration. "Aww, c'mon, sweet. You been dancing for us all night. What's one little kiss for an old bastard, eh?"

"Careful with that old one, miss," said a much younger man at the other end of the stage. "You bend down for a kiss and he'll grab a lot more. And the old fart don't wash his hands much neither." The crowd seemed to find this both funny and entirely spot on. More than a few grumbled about the older man's poor hygiene especially the many wretched things found in his beard.

"Oh piss off, welp!" yelled the bearded man looking to preserve his dignity and chances with the red eyed woman dancing in front of him. "Come talk to me when you've got enough moons behind ya as I've got years."

"Boys, boys," laughed Kurenai as she began her dance again. "Why fight when you have a fine woman and fine wine on such a fine night? Drink and be merry!" An order the crowd had no problem carrying out. Each man yelled for the small blue haired girl carrying the large pitcher of wine. She'd run to them, pour the drink into whatever they had available and then scurry off to the next person. It wasn't long before the pitcher was empty. Whispering a quick apology she ran off to the cart she and Kurenai had arrived in. "What's taking so long, sister?" Hinata heard her sensei's voice call from the stage. "Our patrons are sobering up!"

"Go-gomen, Onee-san," the blue haired girl said with a bow. "May I- May I be excused please?"

"Hurry up, sister. You wouldn't want for these men's thirst to be ignored, would you?"

"H-Hai!"Hinata stammered before disappearing into the darkness of the woods. Once she was safely out of sight the Hyuuga exhaled. _How do Kurenai-sensei and Naruto-kun do this?_ She wondered as she activated her Byakugan. _Every time they look at me it felt like they knew._ 'Don't worry' is what Kurenai had told her before they came to the camp. The important thing, the Jounin had emphasized, was to just play along with whatever they said. You didn't need a lot of charisma or any real acting talent. "Even if people think you're acting weird or lying they won't know what you're lying about. Confirm their belief," Kurenai had told her. "If they think you're a shy little girl whose sister is trying to scam them, go with it." So she had, as best she could anyway. Hinata bowed, thanked them for the coins and bills they gave her and shyly suggested another round to a few of the drunker men.

Those had been the easy parts however harrowing on her nerves they had been. Now she had to locate the West Spice Co executive's tent, slip in undetected and retrieve the needed documents. _Come on, 'Nata-chan, _Hinata could almost hear Naruto say. _I steal the Hokage's hat at least once a week! _"That's right," she whispered to herself as she circled the small camp looking for her target. "I can do this. Hinata ganbare!" It didn't take long to find the small tent she was looking for and even less time to make her way around the crowds and lights. One of the many things she'd from Naruto was that if you knew how lights move, how the eyes tend to scan the horizon and which colors blend into another, it didn't matter what you had on. All Hinata had to do was stay just beyond the light and the human eye's inability to see beyond the light sources it had grown accustomed to would take care of the rest.

_Here!_ Thought Hinata as she slipped into the tent. There were no guards outside, some other disturbance having drawn them away. Fortunately for her this mercenary company lacked discipline. The young girl couldn't think of a situation where if she were on guard post, she would ever be allowed to abandon her post except in the most extreme of circumstances. _Don't wake up now,_ the Hyuuga said to herself as she pressed two fingers into the base of the neck of a man spread out on a cot. He inhaled sharply before his breathing returned to normal. "Gomen," Hinata said as she turned to a small metallic box with a dial lock on it. "Ok… I can do this. Just like with Naruto-kun." Slowly, the girl traced her figure along the dial using her chakra to move the discs into place. One by one she could see them align finally granting her access when the last was in place. "There…" whispered Hinata as she withdrew a small camera and began taking picture of every document inside. "Now… to get these outside."

The small girl slipped outside the same way she came in avoiding the light and staying close to every shadow. Kurenai had told her it didn't matter where the documents were dropped so long as it was a good ways away from where they were being kept and from where she was performing. So she dropped them by the water buffalo (an oddly named metal contraption that held the group's water) and set off back to her sensei. "Wedge, what the devil are you doing?" _Naruto-kun!_ "Come back here, ye backstabbin' bilge rat."_Don't get hurt, Naruto-kun._

That happened to be the same thought Kurenai had as she watched the disguised Genin disarm two men who'd charged him. Shino had been raining arrows everywhere and the large crowd that had gathered to watch the dark haired woman before was now drunkenly staring at each other. Despite their earlier boasts they seemed entirely unsure of how to handle this. _No designated leaders, no contingency plans,_ thought the Jounin suppressing a sigh. _Nothing but sheep. _"Ahhhhhhhh!"Kurenai screamed as she pointed dramatically to the pair of disguised Genin causing mayhem. It wasn't long before the crowd was soon stumbling over itself trying to reach the two hostiles who were gloating about how easy this company had been to con. Of course in all the confusion created by several dozen drunk men running about shoving each other and poking one another with their still sheathed weapons, Naruto and Shino were able to sneak away unseen.

"And now for the hard part," whispered Kurenai as she watched the figures of Shino and Naruto disappear into the dark words.

"Kurenai-sensei." The red eyed woman turned to see the last of the three Genin in her charge holding a small camera. "I- I did it…"

Smiling the Jounin placed a hand over hers. "My sweet little sister," she said to the small girl. "What are you doing out at a time like this? We have to get going!"

"H-Hai!"

* * *

Two boys raced through the dank woods that bordered the wide expanse of sea between Konohagakure and Nami no Kuni. One a short blond boy dressed all in orange and the other a dark haired boy in sunglasses and long grey coat. Their mission had gone off without a hiccup so the broad smiles on their faces didn't really require explanation. This had been their first real mission and neither could think of any way it could have gone better. It was as close to textbook as it was possible to get. All the pair had to do now was wait for their sensei in Nami no Kuni.

"Shino." The dark haired boy turned his face to look at the blond at his side. "We kicked ass out there. We bad?"

"We bad," agreed Shino allowing himself a smile. With Naruto grinning from ear to ear it was only a matter of time before he would be too. Might as well embrace it. "One would think a mercenary company would be better equipped for such things. And if not them than their employer. Surely they realize how far their competitors are willing to go for a leg up."

"Yeah, I asked Kurenai-sensei about that," replied Naruto as the two made their way through heavy brush. "She said this type of job really doesn't hurt anyone. It's just a way for companies to say 'we can get to you.' Just rich people having a dick waggling con-" The blonde suddenly stopped. "There's someone following us," he growled at Shino.

Shino nodded. Two mosquito-like creatures exited the right sleave of his coat and began flying in circles around the area. The Aburame lifted his eyes to meet the cerulean blue of Naruto's. '_Just when we thought we were home free' _they seemed to say. "Anything?"Naruto asked after they'd traveled a short ways more. Shino shook his head. "They're never gone this long, are they?" Another 'no.' Naruto let out a small sigh. Kurenai sensei was nowhere in sight and if they released a signal flare who knew who else would come. Placing his hands together the Genin whispered "Kage Bunshin no jutsu" Two copies of him appeared and fell back into the woods. It wasn't long before Naruto received their memories. "Two cloaked men," he said to the boy on his right. "Ones got blue skin and the other has black hair. That's all they saw before something got them."

"A third man?" asked Shino his voice entirely devoid of any emotion, a clear sign to the blonde that his friend was nervous.

"No…" Naruto answered as his eyes scanned the forest for some kind of escape. "Just the two of them. And they'll be on top of us any moment now." With a nod, the Aburame reach into his coat and withdrew a single kunai. "Send it. We'll need Kurenai-sensei for this. The way they moved…" Shino quickly flicked the special kunai into the air and watched as a black figured snatched it from the air. "Well," laughed Naruto with a small smile to his friend. "It's been good knowing you."

"Where's that cocky and indomitable spirit, Naruto?" Despite the situation, Shino couldn't help but return that smile. "One might think you were afraid."

"You would ask why I would choose now to show a different side me when the answer is obvious." At this Shino laughed. "Today we are well and truly fucked."

"Now we both have a reason to live, Naruto-kun. I will not die until I have a chance to return that jibe and you cannot die before you have a chance to finish that kiss with Hinata-chan." The two boys looked at one another each sporting a defiant grin. For the second time Naruto brought his hands together to perform the Shadow Clone Technique except now there were hundreds of him. "Mayhem!" ordered the original much to the clones' delight. "I want this place looking like a warzone!" The hundreds of Naruto clones set off into the damp, dark words screaming, yelling and hurling stones at everything that moved except each other.

"Someday you'll tell me where you find all this chakra, Naruto," said Shino as the pair set off at a faster pace through the woods.

_Maybe someday,_ thought Naruto as he felt the memories of multiple clones coming back to him. "Ugh," he groaned under the mental pressure. This was something Kurenai-sensei had only recently been training him to withstand so it was still incredibly disconcerting to receive so many memories at once. "That blue guy has a sword," he told Shino. "Never seen one so big. And he's fast with it. They're not slowing down."

"I judged as much from the sound of all that commotion," Shino replied. "Still they were a fine distraction."

"Yeah." Naruto winced as the feeling of a particularly painful slash came back to him. "Hopefully those four manage to make it to Kurenai-sensei or anyone at this point. That guy's cutting through my clones like they're papier-mâché."

"How much longer?" asked The Aburame.

"I'd say not another minute." Both boys looked up to see a tall blue skinned man standing beside a shorter dark haired on. The blue skinned man was fixing them with a broad smile as he scratched his chin. "Hey, you guys did good for a pair of Genin. Maybe in your next life you'll get a chance to really shine!" The two cloaked figures dropped down from the tree and landed a few yards from the Konoha-nins. "So which one is it, Itachi?"

_Itachi?!_ The boys thought in unison. The man who'd murdered the entire Uchiha Clan over the course of one night. The man who at age fourteen was already a captain in ANBU Black Ops. _Yep, we're out of our league._ Despite the situation Naruto couldn't stop himself from smiling. Wasn't he always begging to get a chance to fight stronger and stronger ninjas? _I suppose somebody up there is a laugh about this._

"The blonde, Kisame." Itachi's voice was colder than the mist that engulfed every inch of these woods but carried an almost regal tone to it. "The other is an Aburame. One of _her_ children probably."

Whoever 'she' was it made the blue skinned man grimace. "Why don't we cut off his legs to send her a message?" the man named Kisame suggested.

"No," Itachi said simply. He took a step towards the boys who each jumped back a yard. "Sparing him would work better for us. We show that we have the power to hurt her but have chosen not to. A courtesy she may return one day."

"If you believe I am so craven as to abandon my comrade, than you are very much mistaken," Shino told the two men. "I will not abandon Naruto. Even if our enemies are two S-Class Missing-Nin I refuse to stand aside."

Itachi nodded. "Courageous. I respect that, young Aburame. But you are not so great a threat we need kill you to get the jinchuuriki." Suddenly Shino's body became stiff and he crumpled onto the ground.

"Shino!" cried Naruto as he rushed to his friend's side but before he could even reach out a hand to take hold of the Aburame's shoulder, a massive blue sword came between them. The cut was much slower than the ones Naruto's clones had faced. It was almost lazy as it cut the air that separated Naruto from his unconscious friend. "What did you do to him?" Kisame swung his massive sword at Naruto again, this time faster than before but still much slower than the Genin knew he could.

"Worry about yourself," Itachi advised as his partner continued to lazily stab and slash at their target. "We have no plans for the Aburame, only you. So please, come with us and spare us any more inconvenience. Those clones you released earlier were annoying enough. Heroics will only make this worse for all of us. Kisame will likely cut off your legs and I will likely have to revive you long enough for the extraction ceremony."

"Hey, this kid can dance, Itachi," Kisame called over his shoulder as he forced Naruto back with his wild swings. "Why would I wanna cut his legs off? What fun would he be then?" A kunai wizzed past the ear of the tall swordsman. "Hey! Not bad, kid! Good timing but just a little lacking in technique. Here. Let me show you how it's done." Again Kisame swung his sword at the small boy except this time as Kisame brought his sword back, he threw a kunai directly at Naruto. Naruto who had only just managed to dodge the attack by dropping to the ground, felt the metal pierce deep into his shoulder. "See? Kisame-senpai has loads to teach a young up and comer like you." Kisame's laughter was gruff. It echoed inside the boy's mind until he felt something in him break open. Red chakra swirled around him forcing the kunai out of his body and closing the wound. The blonde's body seemed to grow as the red chakra rose high above him into the night sky. "Heh. Itachi, look! He does know how to call its power. Wanna see how far he can take it?"

"Not particularly," Itachi answered. "Remember how strong the Mizukage became when he released two tails? This one can go up to eight before he becomes the next Kyuubi. Shut it down."

"Hai, hai…" Kisame said in a dejected voice before he brought his sword through the swirling red chakra coming from Naruto. Almost instantly it stopped and the boy's body returned to normal. "Ok, kid, no more playing arou-" Suddenly the woods came alive with the sound of birds chirping. A flash of light illuminated the dark battlefield and the sword Kisame carried dropped to the ground. His face contorted in pain before his legs gave way and his body crumpled to the ground dead.

"What?" Naruto looked from the dead body of the blue skinned man to Itachi. A silver haired man stepped out from the shadows behind the Uchiha a kunai in his hand. Without a sound he brought it down where the Missing-nin's neck should be. Uchiha Itachi disappeared in a swarm of crows his body reforming behind Naruto.

"Kakashi," the Uchiha said with a pale smile on his lips. "It's been a long time." Itachi took a step forward, crows circling his body once again. "We had no intention of killing Naruto here, Dog. Kisame was only toying with the boy. What was that rule about letting emotions make decisions for you?"

"I never could think strait with you around, Weasel," Kakashi said with a shrug. "It's the hair, man. How do you get it so perfect? You're definitely not born with it."

Itachi's smile grew as he disappeared in another murder of crows. "I'm an Uchiha, Kakashi," his disembodied voice called out. "I just deserve it."

"C'mon," muttered Kakashi as the three tomoe of his sharigan merged. "My girlfriend would love to know."

"I'm sure." Itachi's voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at one time. _So this is what Jounin can do,_ thought Naruto as he searched for some sign of the Missing-Nin. "You can't win this, Kakashi. You already gave up your only advantage."

"I owe it to the kid to try," was all the Copy-Nin could say before darkness itself surrounded him.

* * *

**So that's chapter 7. Sorry for how disjointed the whole thing is. My two biggest weaknesses are fight scenes and stealth... and this is an anime about ninja. Yeah I probably should have picked a different anime to try my hand at. Anyway, if anyone has advice or criticism I'd love some. It'd make this fanfic better and it'd help improve my writing.**

**After the next chapter I'll be starting the first proper arc. Something will happen to Naruto and he'll be left to fend for himself in a very bad place. There's also gonna be a lot of talking (like, _a lot)_ so hopefully you guys are into that.**

**Later.**


	8. Words without thoughts

**Chapter 8. Not pleased with this chapter in anyway. If there are any beta readers out there I would love some help.**

**Anyway, this chapter opens with a flashback to when Itachi and Kakashi were in ANBU together. The jutsus are in English (and shamelessly stolen from D20 SRD) and I did my best with the combat. After this chapter Naruto will be recieving a power boost... over the course of a decent sized arc. Up until this point it's been The Genesis Arc (which I probably should have announced at some point.) Next up is The Samsara Arc. I'll probably update the chapter titles to reflect which arc they belong to.**

* * *

Two masked ninja stopped by the large memorial site for all the ninjas who had fallen in the last great war. One a dog, the other a weasel, both bowed their heads, each praying for the spirit of some lost comrade. The silver metal of their breastplates took on a red hue as the sun set over the forests of Konoha. "Words fly up…" said the man in the dog mask breaking the silence that hung between them.

"But thoughts remain below," finished Weasel looking up at his friend. "I know how you feel, man."

"Do you?" asked Dog. His retort hung in the air for only a moment before the ANBU regretted it. "Sorry. I don't know why I say things like that."

"It's fine," Weasel assured him with a small laugh. "You befriend HatakeKakashi you sort of expect a little obnoxiousness."

Kakashi sighed. He looked from his friend to the orange sunset. "I'm just an ass, man. There's no excuse for my bullshit."

"Beating yourself up isn't as endearing in real life as it is in those books and mangas you read so often." Kakashi couldn't see Itachi's face but he knew he was smiling underneath that mask. "Neither is self-pity. The Byronic Hero is pretty overplayed, Dog. Try something different. How's about the young, bubbly hero, full of gumshoe and bravado?"

"Those guys are all canon fodder and you know it, Itachi," laughed Kakashi. "Mind joining me for a drink?"

"I'm fourteen,"Itachi replied with a shake of his head.

"Then order some apple juice or milk. Wait…" Kakashi brought his hand up to his chin as he considered this last comment. "There's a mom joke in there, I think."

"Something along the lines of 'like I do from your mom?'" Itachisuggested.

"Hey, hang on let me write that down." Kakashi pretended to search for something on his person before raising a middle finger. "Shouldn't you be calling me senpaiand be reverent or something?"

"So… you want to reenact some yaoi fantasy out of your novels?"

"You know what, I'm gonna head home before the dick jokes start," Kakashi said with a disappointed shake of his head. "Could you be a dude for like five seconds, Itachi? I'm not asking for hypermasculine but some sign you're straight would be appreciated."

"What about that thing with Dragon?" The raven haired teenager said waving a finger. "Or that cute nurse who treated your injuries?"

"You what?!"Itachi just managed to move out of the way of a blow Kakashi had aimed at his head. "You bastard! That's my cousin!" The two half heartedly threw kicks and jabs at another, Itachi laughing about how unfair it was Kakashi-senpai wasn't happier with him for exploring his sexuality with the many women of Konoha and Kakashi yelling about how fortunate Itachi was to have a brother who would be able to carry on the family line. Finally the silver-haired ANBU tackled his black haired friend onto the ground.

"Is this the part where we make out?" Itachi asked smiling up at his friend. "I think your cousin mentioned that was one of her fantasies." The weasel mask he wore now hung on the side of his face revealing the handsome face underneath it. Almost immediately Kakashi jumped off him.

"You gotta ruin everything don't you?"

"Lighten up, Kakashi," Itachi said as he stood. "Life's short enough as is…" The silver haired ANBU shook his head and turned away from his companion. It was a moment before Itachi's stride matched his and the two were walking back towards the ANBU compound."Hey, Kakashi," Itachi called out to his friend. The raven haired teenager had stopped, once again staring at the sun setting over Hidden Leaf Village. "Why'd you go ANBU?"HatakeKakashi turned to face Itachi. With his mask no longer on Konoha's Copy-Nin could see the boy's (for however strong he was, he was still just that, a boy who never got a chance to have a childhood) face. There was a pain behind his black eyes the veteran ninja was all too familiar with.

"Losing that motivation?" Kakashi asked with a smile. "My little guy is finally growing up. Maybe you'll finally stop standing at attention every time Dragon or Oni tell us to do something."

"I'm serious."

"I am too," Kakashi replied not looking at the boy he was told to mentor. "We're not noble, we're not heroes and we're not a group of fucking story book warriors with all the virtues of truth and justice at our backs. Since you came here that's how you've been acting and it's damn painful to watch." _There you go doing it again,_ the ANBU said to himself. _Is empathy really that hard for you? Kami and that old man has you looking after a five year old._ "Look," Kakashi said more softly. "You're a better man than me, Itachi. I know that, old man Sarutobi knows it, fuck, everyone in ANBU knows it too. You've got ideals but… ideals are just a punchline, man. You can't have them with the world what it is. Look around you. What do you see? How many kids has the Uchiha Police Force picked up because they had to steal food for their families? How many riots do you guys quell? But I bet you've never gone hungry. Not unless you're on a mission. Me neither. Know why? Because we kill people for this village. We do all the things you arrest those civilians for but we do it to other villages, other people and other countries. That's the system we work in and that's what you fight for."

"You're wrong," Itachi said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I fight for Konoha, for The Will of Fire, for my little brother and for every Uchiha."

"Do you?" Kakashi couldn't keep the disdain from his voice. "You want to know why I went ANBU? I tried retiring after the last war. I tried going to a normal school and dating a regular chick, all that bullshit. Do you know what I realized,Itachi? That I wasn't one of I would never be one of them. I couldn't walk into a room without needing to know where everything was, I couldn't sit with my back to a window, I couldn't sit still in a car and listen to some sixteen year old bottle blonde talk about who was fucking who, who was the hottest couple on campus or really any stupid fucking thing that came out of her mouth. I found out there was nothing for me to learn. I didn't need a job or a degree or 'an education' because I could just _take_ what I wanted and no one would be able to stop me."

"So the great HatakeKakashi became an ANBU Operator because civilian life was just too hard for him," mocked Itachi. The boy's sorrow filled expression had given way to one filled with anger. He now stared at the veteran ninja with a look of complete defiance. "That what you're telling me?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you." That was not what Itachi expected to hear. "Going ANBU is what everyone thought I should have done. It's what each of those stupid girls asked me. 'So why didn't you go ANBU?' So finally I said fuck it and went to the selection exams. Life's simpler here. And most people get what a load of bullshit all that stuff about being heroes is. I'm a one trick pony, Itachi. This is all I know how to do."

"How do you give your life to something you don't even believe in, Kakashi? Don't you feel hollow? You're just an automaton going through the motions with no will or passion to move you." Itachi almost never spoke above a whisper but today any passerby would have heard the young Uchiha as he yelled at Kakashi. "You're friends died! They gave their lives for the Hidden Leaf. For you and you're just going to spit on them like this?!"

"You're young, Itachi," Kakashi said his sharper than the edge of their swords. "So I'm going to give you the chance to take that back."

"Fuck you," spat the Uchiha. "Don't act like you're some hundred year old sage. You said it yourself, _thisis all you know_. You don't know what it's like to go home to a family. If you did you'd know why I had no choice but to become ANBU. I had to, so that Kaa-san would always be there ready to smother me with her affection and love. I fight, I bleed, I kill, so that Tou-san can sit on his chair, smoke his pipe and practice calligraphy every Saturday night. I'll die on some forgotten corner of this miserable continent so that my little brother will always be able to chase fireflies under the cool nights of Konoha. And no worn out Jounin who can't even get the same woman to share his bed two weeks in a row is going to tell me none of that means anything.

"Meaning doesn't have to come from something bigger than us. I know my reasons for fighting and that's all that matters, Kakashi."

"You wanna hear I joke I learned back when I was fourteen, Itachi?" Kakashi's voice had lost its edge. Now it was just tired. Tired and sorry for what it was about to say. "Over in Kumo there was a ninja fighting for those same reasons. He too had a Kaa-san, a Tou-san and an Oniichan he loved very deeply. But he never got the chance to die for them. A Konoha ninja had been sent to eliminate a food processing plant in the Kumo region. The Kumo-nin'sKaa-san and Tou-san ran it. They were inside when the Konoha ninja set off the explosives. The Kumo had accepted that one day his hitae-ate would be returned to his family and that one day it may even go to his brother. He didn't realize that wars aren't fought between soldiers. We're just agents. It doesn't matter what happens on the battlefield if we have no home to go back to. That's the truth of warfare, Itachi. Something ninjas have managed to forget in the last six years.

"Nobody wants to believe their sons and daughters died a meaningless death, so they invented all these stories of heroes and brave young ninjas going off to defend them. They wanted to believe there was some sense of virtue behind all of it. See if they could convince themselves this was a test of strength, a test of whose spirit was stronger, than there'd never be an end to the kids willing to line up and die. Of course the enemy always gets vilified for destroying the homes of innocents. For blowing up factories, food depots, fuel refineries. We're the big bad wolf. They never realize war isn't a battlefield out in the desert, miles from home. It's shinobi like you and me destroying their village's water supply. Do you know what the difference between a great general and a poor one is? It isn't how competently they hold a formation or squad together. It's knowing how to hit the enemy so they can't hit back. Every food supply we seized was one fewer we needed for us and, more importantly, one they had to make up."

"Oh fuck off." Itachi's voice hadn't lost a hint of the anger he felt. "That's bullshit and you know it, Kakashi. Do you kill pregnant women? Do you attack non-hostiles? You don't kill people for fun, Kakashi. You can be as bitter as you want about everything and maybe you're right to be. But we're not the soulless monsters you keep arguing we are. We've all done things we're not proud of. We've had to. Battle's too ugly a thing for anyone to walk away from it not disgusted with themselves or what they've done. We leave a small piece of ourselves behind each time but we get a piece back. Every time our country looks to us and knows we'll always be there _for them_ no matter who the enemy is, they fill that hole inside us."

"You think it's just monsters who do those things," Kakashi mocked, his mask hiding his sneer.

"No not monsters," Itachi said forcefully. "Broken husks where men once were do those things. They turn their back on everything good just so they can live another day. Is that what happened to you, Kakashi? Did you turn your back on everyone just so you'd live a few more minutes? No. You've never hesitated when a comrade needed help. You're always the first one on the scene. That's how I know you don't believe anything that you're saying. You believe in the Will of Fire. You believe in it so strongly that seeing how the world is eating away at you."

Kakashilaughed, a long howl reminiscent of the animals he summoned in combat. "Yeah, you caught me, Itachi. I'm some tragic figure who's become a twisted reflection of the world he lives in. Except I ain't so twisted. From where I'm standing, you're the twisted one."

"I'm twisted for wanting to protect my family?" Itachi asked. Just how far off the deep end was his friend?

"Yeah. That attitude is the reason we'll never get out of this mess. The lives of your mother and father are more important to you than the lives of a hundred strangers."

"You're twisting my words!" Itachi objected.

"No, I'm not." The masked ninja shrugged as he let out a deep sigh. "You already said it, Itachi. You'd kill for your family. You agreed to this life so that your family could keep their's."

"I kill enemy ninja…" Itachi replied flatly. "Not innocents."

"Who says ninjas aren't innocent?" _I need a drink,_ thought Kakashi. The anger had left him and now he was stuck breaking the spirit of someone he cared about without the red mist to numb him to it. "How many villages conscript? All of them except Konohagakure and Iwagakure. How many villages actually give their people some way of improving their lot in life outside of serving it as a shinobi? None except Kumogakure. Hokage-sama is trying but that'll be a few more years if it doesn't fall apart. So you're left with people whose options are fight, starve or spend the rest of their life like the peasants their parents were. Most people don't get to have ideals like yours Itachi. They're too busy just getting by.

"Those people you killed, they weren't proud. They were sad fucks who suffered everyday of their life before you ended it."

"But I had to…" Throughout Kakashi's speech Itachi seemed to grow more and more distant. His eyes lost their focus and his head dropped, something an Uchiha never did.

"Of course you did," the Copy-Nin said, something resembling compassion finally in his voice. "What would happen if you didn't? If Minato-sensei hadn't crushed that Iwa line Konoha would have been burnt to the ground. That's the real joke. We can see the system, we can see the spiral of death, but if we say no…"

"Everyone suffers," Itachi finished his voice hoarse.

"Hm? What happened to that raging moto boner you had a moment ago?" His words may have been poor but therewas obvious concern in the masked ninja's voice. "What's this all about, Itachi?Somethings up and you're keeping it from me."

"My Clan," Itachi said simply. "Kakashi, they won't listen to me or rather they wouldn't listen to me and now- now I don't think there's any turning back."

"Back from what?" The hairs on the back of Kakashi's head stood on end (well, more than usual, anyway). Something was wrong and his every instinct was telling him to get moving, now before it was too late.

"Thank you," the Uchiha said as he looked up at his friend. "Thank you for showing me what needs to be done."

"Itachi?"Kakashi said slowly. _Danger!_ Some part of him screamed. _Move!_ But it was too late. By the time Kakashi's hand moved to expose the Jounin's sharingan, Itachi had already merged all three of his tomoe. The last thing Kakashi saw (or perhaps imagined) was a single tear fall from the eyes of Itachi as he put his Weasel mask back over his face. "No…" the Copy-Nin muttered as consciousness left him. When he awoke Oni was standing over him. The pale woman held her mask in her hands and peered at the young ANBU through her thick round sunglasses.

"Stay still," she ordered. Kakashi didn't have to ask why. He could feel the Aburame's insects crawling throughout his body likely searching for some wound to treat. "You have been here for almost twelve hours." Oni's voice was as bereft of emotion as her skin was of color. Bedside manner was not one of her many skills. "There is a great deal we need to discuss. You will accompany me to Hokage-sama's chambers."

"What did Itachi do?" the Copy-Nin asked bluntly.

"As I said, there is a great deal to discuss but we will not do so here."

"…Hai," replied Kakashi.

* * *

Naruto watched horrified as the Jounin called Kakashi was engulfed in black shadows. It was as if each shadow were a living, breathing thing with hands ready to grab at the man and tear him apart. "No!" the small Genin cried out but he needn't. There was a brilliant flash of light emanating from Kakashi that cast each shadow back into the darkness of the damp forest. The Jounin ran through a series of handsigns and suddenly there was light everywhere. It seemed as if the sun had risen over that small battlefield and nowhere else.

"Naruto!"Kakashi screamed. "Get out of here! I can't protect you and fight him!"

Three months ago Naruto would have refused. His pride would have mixed with his unflinching commitment to others and the boy would have insisted on staying even if it meant his death. Today he may very well have done the same except he sensei's counsel was still with him. _When fight a stronger opponent,_ she had said,_ it was important to keep in mind what their goals are. If they are after someone and they need you alive, it is infinitely better to flee and force them to chase you than it is to stand and fight. With their attention on you they are blind to the dangers around them. So, as wonderful as your courage is Naruto, sometimes you need to ignore it._

"Funny how she always knows what to say," Naruto muttered before he set off past the silver-haired ninja. _If he wants me, he'll have to charge now. And if he doesn't, I can get away and find help._ Just where he would find this help, the young blonde had no idea. But if there was help to be found he would find it. Believe it.

"Damn…" murmured Itachi appearing where Naruto had stood before sprinting away. "And I wanted this done with as little fuss as possible…"

"Heh." Despite his mask, it was clear Kakashi was smiling. "You must not know Naruto very well."

"I do not," conceded Itachi with a shrug. In the light Kakashi had created the fused tomoe of his eyes could be seen. Just what he would do with them was still an unanswered question. "Perhaps in a different life. Come! Let us finish this. I have prey to catch."

"You won't catch me off guard this time," Kakashi said what little joviality that had been in his voice gone.

"I won't need to," replied Itachi as he lunged at the Copy-Nin. It was just a ruse, Kakashi knew. In a match of pure taijutsu he would win. He was stronger and faster. Itachi's greatest strenght lay in his mastery of misdirection and genjutsu. A straightforward attack clearly was anything but that. There had to be something else to it. What, Kakashi was unsure of. _If I'm gonna win, I have to make him react to me._

"Fire Style!"Kakashi yelled as he ran through a series of handsigns "Wall of Flames!" Almost as if it came from the earth itself, flames appeared in front of the Jounin reaching high above his body and almost to the very top of the forest. Immediately the Jounin jumped back several feet knowing how Itachi would respond. The raven haired Missin-Nin leapt through the flames the fire somehow not burning his skin.

"Mind Art," whispered Itachi as he came down over Kakashi's head. "Endless Fall!"

"Kai!" cried Kakashi expelling Chakra through his system. The Genjutsu broke before it ever had a chance to take effect. But the damage was done. The moment spent dispelling Itachi's attack had given the Uchiha an opportunity. From his outstretched hand a ball of fire easily a foot wide shot out at Kakashi. The ball of fire struck his vest burning what little bit of the flame retardant material it could. _And Kurenai says these don't have any use. Mid fall, maybe this is the chance I was waiting for,_ thought Kakashi he drew a kunai, jumped and charged it with his chakra. The blade hissed, glowing brightly in the Jounin's hands has he aimed it at the heart of his opponent.

Were it not for the Sharingan, Kakashi would never have seen Itachi somehow propel himself away from the attack (another shadow of him composed entirely of crows took the blow) and away from Kakashi towards the woods Naruto had fled to. "Not on your life!" roared the masked ninja as he brought his hands together. Kakashi disappeared into the ground, reappearing underneath Itachi's leg. "You're not getting out of this that easy." In one fluid motion Itachi was pulled into the ground leaving only his head exposed. With his enemy now incapacitated Kakashi leapt out from the ground. He brought his bleeding hand down, barely touching the soft earth underneath him. "Summoning!" he yelled as a pack of dogs all of different sizes came out of thin air. Without prompting they charged Itachi who had yelled something unintelligible before the ground around him exploded freeing him and sending debris everywhere.

"Get away, you mutts!" Despite the shattered earth flying in every direction the pack of dogs would not relent. They came at him with all the tenacity of relentless attack dogs (which they were) lunging at his arms, snapping at his legs, anything they could to bring him down. If he had been a slower man perhaps they would have been able to but the Konoha Missing-Nin just evaded each attack staying out of their reach. "Fire Style: Ring of Fire!" Chakra rushed to Itachi's legs as he moved so fast he became a blur. He ran in circles around the dogs, fire appearing wherever he stepped. When Itachi stopped the entire area went up flames. It was then that Itachi heard it; the Chirping of hundreds of birds. "No!" he yelled as he turned to face Kakashi. The Jounin was sprinting towards him. In his right hand was what appeared to be a long blade made of pure lightning. There was a blinding flash of light and Itachi was impaled but not where Kakashi intended.

In turns of time it had barely been noticeable. Itachi had turned, angling his body slightly as Kakashi came at him. As the Konoha Jounin came within reach Itachi pushed his arm just a few degrees further left. The result was a winded Kakashi with his hand through the left shoulder of the Uchiha. "Good try," Itachi whispered as he brought his own hand to Kakashi's chest. Some unseen power pushed him back. For a moment Kakashi stared at Itachi with a look of pure disdain. Then he collapsed onto the ground no longer able to move. "Chakra… that's always been your weak point, Kakashi."

"And now for the boy," Itachi said aloud as he brought the same hand that had struck kakashi up to his shoulder. He muffled a small cry as he seared the injury shut. "A temporary fix. I haven't much time left. I need to do this now."

* * *

In the forests that bordered the span of sea that separated Nami no Kuni from the Land of Fire, Naruto ran. Towards what he wasn't entirely sure but he knew there had to be someone, anyone who could help._Keep going_ he told himself. _Don't stop. Someone's gotta be nearby. Kurenai-sensei, Sakura-chan, 'Nata, anyone._ Perhaps whatever cruel god who was responsible for the last twelve years of misfortune he'd had to endure clocked out. No sooner had Naruto thought of finding help that he came across the remainder of Team 7. They were surrounding a man well into his fifties and each seemed on the lookout for any potential threat. "Sakura!" the blond Genin yelled as he saw his close friend. "Please! I need help. Your sensei, I- I think he's in trouble."

"Slow down, Naruto," Kiba said in an authoritative voice. "We saw your clone. He told Kakashi-sensei there were two seriously strong men after you and Shino. Where are they?"

Naruto shook his head. "Back there. One of them, I think his name was Itachi, did something to Shino and now he can't move. Kakashi, he took one of them out but Itachi- I think he was winning their fight."

"You did the right thing coming here," Kiba said in as reassuring a voice as he could. "Naruto, I want you to create a couple dozen clones to look after our client. Sakura, Sasuke, come on. We need to help."

"But what about our client, Kiba?" Sakura said somewhat nervously. "We already had those two Chuunin try to hurt him-" _Two Chuunin?_ Thought Naruto bewildered. _I thought they were on a C mission like me. Are those guys related to Itachi?_

"I'm not saying it again, Sakura. Besides," Kiba said much lower than before. "Think about it. We lose some random civilian or we lose one of Konoha's best Jounin. Pretty easy decision. Now enough talking. We need to move. Naruto, take us where you last saw them."

"They're this way," Naruto told them after he'd produced a dozen shadow clones. "Don't leave this guy's side," he ordered before taking off with the other Genin into the forest. "This is strong. That big guy did everything he ordered him to without a second question."

"Of course he is," whispered Sasuke.

Killing intent is difficult to properly categorize. Unlike many early shinobi believed it isn't related to chakra levels or even raw power. The overawed feeling people got from standing in front of someone with near limitless supplies of chakra was more akin to falling from a high ravine or standing at the foot of a massive mountain. There was nothing particularly unique about it. You would get the same feeling from watching a ninja perform some incredible feet of strength or speed or even an unbelievable complex jutsu. Killing intent was different. With killing intent it was as if you had a direct window into the darkest feelings inside someone's heart. For that moment you understood at a primal almost visceral level just who that person was and what they were willing to do. It was no coincidence that people who produced the most fear inducing KI were the most twisted individuals in the Great Elemental Nations. Whether it was a psychotic killer or someone who had been tortured beyond human limits, the most potent KI came from people who had gazed deep into the abyss.

One such person was Uchiha Sasuke, the younger brother of Uchiha Itachi and the only survivor of the massacre seven years ago. At first there was nothing. Just a cold sinking numbness inside the boy's heart. He wouldn't feel anything until Naruto had spoken. It was slow at first, like a small fire starting underneath a dry leaf. There was only smoke at first soon the leaf was consumed as the fire spread to everything around it. Sakura, having been intimate with him before, was the first to notice it. "Sasuke," she whispered to him. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Now leave me alone," he answered the hate he felt giving his voice an almost otherworldly coldness. How Sasuke was able to look into those emerald eyes filled with the girl's love and concern for him and respond so harshly perhaps spoke of the hate growing in him. Or maybe it was just a decision he had made long ago. That love would never quiet his anger.

"So you've brought help." The four Genin stopped. Ahead of them stood Uchiha Itachi, his left arm using the part in his long black robes as a sling. They could see a large wound on his left shoulder and the Uchiha was clearly worse for wear. "You really a troublesome child."

"Kiba, does this mean Kakashi-sensei-" Sakura said suppressing a small sob. Kiba's expression hardened but he said nothing about their missing sensei.

"He's hurt," Kiba whispered to the other Genin. "First priority should be reopening that wound. Let blood loss take its course and we can walk away from this winners."

It was a sound idea and with their numbers very much a good possibility. But Sasuke seemed to have his own plans about how this battle should be conducted. When he caught sight of his older brother all he could hear was the screams of his mother father as he watched them die again and again. Without warning, Sasuke charged Itachi, running through quick hand signs as he did so. When the boy stopped, he spit fire from his mouth in one colossal ball. The flames burned everything they touched until they reach the end of Itachi's outstretched hand. "Sasuke…" Itachi said in a faraway voice. "This really is an interesting night."

"What the fuck are you doing?!" yelled Kiba as Sasuke continued to attack Itachi. "Get back here, you self centered prick!" Perhaps Kakashi had failed to properly instill discipline in his team or maybe the ringing in Sasuke's ears drowned out every order the boy was receiving. Whatever the case he continued to attack his older brother without thought or reason stopping only when the senior Uchiha took hold of his arm.

"You're still weak…" Itachi told him in a voice so low only he could hear. There was a loud crack and Sasuke yelled out in pain. The bone of his left arm now protruded out through his skin. "And you really should learn to listen to your friends."

"Fuck… you!" Sasuke spat looking up at the brother he once loved and now wished only death on.

"Such a mouth," Itachi said almost lazily.

"Get away from him!" Naruto and Sakura said in unison. _Perfect,_ thought Itachi as the jinchuuriki charged him. _I can finally get this over with._

"Maelstrom."

* * *

A tall man carrying a sword easily the size of the Missing-Nin Kisame watched the dozen Naruto clones disperse throughout the forest. Today was his lucky day. He'd heard Sharingan Kakashi was guarding his target, Tazuna, the bridge builder, and had reconsidered his arrangement with the dwarf of a man named Gato. As pleasant as it would be to become known as the man who killed Hatake Kakashi, it was a fight he didn't know if he was up for. Kakashi was a master of hundreds of Jutsus and an incredibly talented Taijutsu fighter. In a straight fight they were essentially on equal ground. Not a problem, with most targets, since his ambush abilities were beyond comparing. That is unless the man he was ambushing was Konoha's most feared assassin.

All in all it was the sort of fight that could easily go against him and that the Copy-Nin had brought three Genin with him just made him all the more apprehensive. Sure they'd just be canon fodder but canon fodder had a way of distracting you just long enough for a kunai to pierce your heart. "Our lucky day, Haku," the tall man said to a masked ninja beside him. "I counted twelve clones. You?"

"Twelve as well," a soft voice replied. The one named Haku withdrew several senbon, eyeing their target through a porcelain white mask. "He's got good instincts but you're too fast. Tazuna will be dead before the boy has a chance to react."

"Good," Momochi Zabuza said with a cold chuckle. His laughter was something hoarse like his voice was no longer his own.

"I see you!" Both the massive man and the shorter ninja turned to face the speaker. It was one of the boy's clones and he held an explosive kunai in his hands. "Get him out of here!" the clone yelled into the woods before hurling the kunai into the midst of the two enemy ninja. The tree they stood upon splintered and shattered sending the two ninjas in opposite directions.

_Maybe I shoulda just killed Gato and found a new place to hide out,_ thought Zabuza as he caught himself on a different tree. "Not bad, runt," he said out loud. "But that bridge builder is still dead."

* * *

**And that's chapter 8. Any thoughts on the argument between itachi and Kakashi? I kept trying to rewrite but it never came out how I wanted. Anyone out there have any advice?**

**This is the conclusion to The Genesis Arc. They'll more or less all end the same way with some cliff hangerish ending. The chapters won't (as I hate writing and leaving a thought uncompleted) but I figure the end of an arc should set up the next one with some level of anticipation. Up next is Samsara Arc. Hopefully it's actually good and not just preachy whining.**

**Anyway, take care.**


	9. Naraka Part I

**A shorter chapter than usual. Basically I'm just trying to establish the new setting so I kept it brief.**

**And I apologize for the late update. I'll try to get back on my normal posting schedule now that it looks like life will be throwing me a bone.**

**Question for the audience, what type of jutsu would you like to see Kurama teach Naruto? I have Naruto's fighting style mapped out for the end of this arc but I can't decide the big jutsu he'll walk away with. I'm leaning towards something completely removed from his wind element (since his fighting style will revolve around it). Any ideas?**

* * *

"Naruto!"

The small genin's eyes slowly opened. The world was swimming around him. All he could make out was screaming, cold laughter and…

"Sasuke!"

Naruto forced himself up, his every move felt heavy as if he were wading through a swamp. "Sasuke!" he called out again. The black hired boy was nowhere to be seen. No one was. Not his sensei, Kurenai, his teammates Hinata and Shino or any of that other Jonin'steam. That made the boy panic. He had to find them. All of them. They were in danger. Everything had gone to hell, the whole mission was a fiasco.

'Wait no, that's wrong,' Naruto thought as his hand touched his temple. Memories flooded his mind, each image and sound a nail through the side of his head. 'No one was nabbed the documents. Me an Shino were never seen. We did everything right.'The silhouettes of two robed men began to form in Naruto's mind. The smaller silhouette had calmly asked for Naruto. That was when Sasuke went at him. "No!" Naruto cried as the image of Sasuke lying motionless at the feet of that smaller figure came back to him.

"You're still weak…" he had whispered.

"Why?" cried Naruto. "You're his brother. Why would you do that to him? How- how could you be so cruel to your own family?"

"Everyone has their reasons," said a harsh voice beside Naruto. "So long as they can sleep at night, it really doesn't matter what those reasons are." The voice belonged to a small red fox with nine tails. Its blood red eyes examined the landscape as it walked past Naruto and towards a wide clearing. "Ah," said the fox simply. "As I , runt," the fox called out to the boy behind it. "The Uchiha, the one you called Itachi. He sent us to this naraka with those wretched Uchiha eyes. If you want to see the human world again, you'll screw your head back on straight."

Naruto looked at the nine-tailed fox in front of him then at the world around him. Everything was a boiling red, as if the whole world were an old iron pot left on the stove for far too long. There were no trees, no birds, nothing but a complete stillness as far as he could see. Even the sky was gone. In its place was more of the same red hot iron. "This- This is-"

"Hell," finished the fox not taking its eyes off the horizon. "I said that already. Keep up. Everything works the same here even if I have a body again. You die, I die. I die, you die. So let's hold off on that mental breakdown you're having."

Naruto scowled at the fox. "I know you?" he asked using the fresh anger he felt to push away the maelstrom of emotions still making their way through him.

"I'm a nine-tailed fox. This can't be hard."

"Wait-what?" Naruto shook his head forcefully. Nothing fit. Everything kept clashing against each other like the pieces of this puzzle just weren't meant to form any kind of real picture. There were glimpses here and there of things he knew but it hurt more and more every time he called them to him. "Hinata, Kurenai, Shino, Sakura, JiJi, Iruka, Teuchi…" Naruto whispered the names creating an image of each person in his mind. "Those are my precious people." As he went through the names again, new faces began to form. A blond girl with pale eyes and skin.A messy haired boy with a bored expression on his face.A young woman behind the Ichiraku Ramen stand.

"Those names, those faces," said the fox in a low growl. "Let go of them. They can't help you. But the creatures of this realm can use them against you. "

"Hey, can it, fox," spat Naruto as he gave his head another violent shake. The images were settling. Each face had a name, a feeling and a memory to it. "If I ever need tips on licking my balls clean then feel free to talk." The fox fixed the rookie genin with a look that would have made the seas part. "H-hey, just joking. I'm sure you wipe!"

The fox hissed. "Stop. Just stop," it commanded. This time Naruto had no problem obeying. Cautiously the genin walked up beside his tailed companion, hoping to get a look at what he was seeing. The sight made his stomach turn. There, off in a clearing underneath that red iron sky, was a man no older than Naruto's sensei, Kurenai, lying on the ground weeping. He was completely nude, the heat from the ground was burning his skin but the man would not stand. He would not stand as his skin blackened and cracked. He would not stand even as the blood oozed out of him and sizzled as it touched the ground. After a long pain filled cry, the life left him and he would not stand.

"Watch," ordered the fox. "It begins again." And it did. A wind came and the man's body was restored. He lay there, his eyes shut tight, sobbing. "There's no stopping it." Naruto turned his eyes from the horror in front of him to the fox at his side. "He was foolish to lay there until he cooked. On his feet he can die with pride. Or maybe he's just been here so long pride has no more meaning to him."

"What're you talking about?!" The small genin wiped his own tears from his face. Resolution took their place. "C'mon he needs help!"

The fox laughed. It gestured with its snout towards the man who was slowly rising to his feet. A sword had appeared in his left hand and he adopted a stance Naruto was unfamiliar with. Rather than hold the sword in front of him, the man held it at his side with his feet shoulder width apart. The sword wasn't something Naruto recognized either. In place of the edged, flat swords he'd seen in Konoha, this one had almost no edge to it. It was long, narrow with a pointed end as it were only for stabbing with no thought given to cutting at all. "There's nothing you can do for him, boy." The fox spoke with a smile that showed off all its sharp teeth. "This naraka is Sanjiva. Here you die only to be reborn again and again as monsters and beasts cut you to pieces." And as the fox spoke, fearsome men appeared. Each seemed as tall a tree to the young Naruto and just as thick. Their muscled arms carried picks, axes, swords and clubs. "Come. We have to get mov-"

"Hey, uglies!" The fox couldn't believe its ears. Naruto had drawn a kunai and was charging into the mists of the murderous crowd. "You're gonna be in a world of hurt if you go near him. Believe it!" They didn't. Without so much as taking notice of the boy, the mob of brutes continued to advance towards the man with the strange sword. Each step they took slow and lumberous as if their weight was so great even they were pained by it. "I said back off!" yelled Naruto, his anger at being dismissed by these men evident. With a growl to match the fox he'd left behind,Naruto jumped onto the back of one of the men and drove the kunai into his shoulder. Letting out a deep moan that seemed to roll off the sky itself, the man began to jerk about. "Wo-oa!"the small genin cried as he tried to hold on but to no avail. Naruto's kunai still in his shoulder, the man lifted his ax and brought it down where Naruto had fallen.

_CLANG!_

"Up here!" The brute looked up just in time to see the foot that was about to collide with his face. "Gotcha!" yelled Naruto as he landed. He watched as his target stumbled back. "What gives?! I caught ya square in the face! Ah!" Another of the brutes had swung his weapon, a pickaxe easily the boy's size, at him. Thankfully, these men's massive size seemed to make every movement difficult, even swinging their weapons, and Naruto was able to not only evade the attack, but jump onto the pickaxe itself. "Your guard's down!" From his new position, the genin, had a perfect view of his opponent's throat. Before the man had time had time to move, a kunai had flown from Naruto's hand and into his windpipe. "Eat it!"

His victory was brief. As Naruto touched back down on the red iron ground of sanjiva, the man reached up and removed the kunai from where it had pierced him. To the genin's horror, the man was unfazed. The only hint the hulking brute showed of injury was the raspy cry he gave out when he swung again at Naruto. "Just what the hell are you?" The question went unanswered as more and more of the massive men descended on Naruto. Axes, swords and clubs beat at everywhere except where the boy was when they descended. Despite their numbers, none could land a blow. But neither did they show fatigue, or frustration or pain. They came at him as their tendons were cut. They came at him as they cut one another. They came at him with the same empty expression on their face.

So on Naruto danced, dodging, poking at shins and slashing tendons with his kunai all the while trying to think of an escape. He'd sent a clone to retrieve the man with the strange sword when the fight had begun. The clone must have been successful as Naruto saw neither it nor the man and its memories still hadn't come back to him. 'One smoke tag,' thought the genin as he reached into his jacket. 'Let's do this.' "Hey, creeps," Naruto said aloud. "Hope ya got a good look cuz this'll be the last time ya see the world's greatest shinobi!" And with that, Naruto set off the tag, filling everything within twenty feet of him with thick smoke. Smiling, the genin turned to make his escape-

Only for a club to strike him in the the unmistakable _CRACK!_of bones shattering, Naruto flew backwards into the very center of the massive figures. Up their weapons went, ready to tear, cut and break every bit that was Naruto. But the chance never the first brought his ax down, he was snatched up by a massive red tail that slammed him into the ground until what was his body became a pile of broken bone and blood. The same fate fell on each as all around them the ground sprouted red tails each larger than they. The men roared, swinging their weapons at the mass of writhing tails but for each they cut another was ready to seize them by the arm, tearing it off as if they were little more than the limbs of paper dolls. In the middle of all this was Naruto coughing up blood and struggling to his feet. "Huh?" he asked in between pained gasps.

'STAY PUT!' said a harsh voice that seemed to come from his own mind. 'Just wait,' it said more calmly. 'I'm almost done with them.'Naruto continued to watch as the last of the men was crushed leaving behind a pile of black bile, bone and skin. 'Are you, alright?' the voice asked.

"Well enough," Naruto said out loud. "Nah, that's a lie," he admitted. "Ribs are completely done and I can barely breathe. Talking hurts like hell too." The boy tried to move into a sitting position but collapsed back onto the red hot ground. For a moment it felt as everything was somehow hotter. Much hotter in fact. So hot Naruto was sure his skin would burn. But then he remembered Shino's body sprawled out motionless and the heat subsided. "I gotta get up," Naruto repeated as he tried to force himself to a sitting position again. "Everyone still needs me."

"Do not move, kit," he heard the fox say by his side. The strange ninetailed fox was wrapping her tails around his body. Its red chakra soaked into Naruto, mending his broken bones and restoring him to health. "That was very foolish of you. That man's time here was already up. No sooner had you rescued him from the Onis that his soul was called away. You must think before acting, kit. This world is too dangerous for you to take such risks."

"I have to get back…"

"Yes, we do," agreed the fox. "But first we have to find a way back. Do you know where we are?"

"No." Naruto's voice had suddenly become distant. After the initial shock of combat had worn off, he had begun to evaluate his situation. He was in a new place by means he had no knowledge of surrounded by enemies he couldn't hurt and being shadowed by the Nine Tailed Fox. As far as situations went, this could be better. At least he could have some means of returning to his comrades before the S-Ranked criminal killed all of them. As it stood the reality of returning home just to find the people he cared about dead almost sent him reeling back into the confused mindset when he'd first awoken here.

But Kurenai had trained him properly. The priority was finding a way back. Once he had that everything else would come, whatever tragedy it happened to be. _You can't run from pain,_ the red eyed woman had told him. _It will catch up to you. Embrace it. Make it a part of you that warms your blood when the world looks to push you aside and hardens your heart when everyone looks to tear it out. But then… then let it go. _He would make his way home.

"What is this place?" asked Naruto.

"Sanjiva. The Reviving Hell." Not what Naruto expected to hear. "The Uchiha forced us into this world. How, I do not know. The Sharingan has always been tied to the many Narakas but this sort of power, not even Madara could claim it."

"I'm sorry," the apologized with a shake of his head. "I still don't know where we are or what any of this is. What were those men we fought? They didn't bleed. Or feel pain even," he added remembering how one had simply pushed a kunai out of his throat before he continued attacking. "Hell, I don't know your name either."

Kyuubi watched him through its red eyes. The boy wasn't that dumb. Surely he had realized what had actually saved him. At least he should recognize the chakra contained in its small frame. Perhaps Naruto just needed to hear it before it really set in. "I'm the Kyuubi no Yoko as you humans know me. My name though you may have asked for it, is not something I give freely. To me you are The Jinchuuriki and I am Kyuubi."

Naruto smiled. "Why do I have to be Ningen or Jinchuuriki? There's nothing special about that. Not that I don't appreciate your company but can't I be a Jinzogen instead? There was this one in a movie I saw who was sooo cool." The boy took on an overly serious expression and extended his hand. "Come with me if you want to live," he said extending a hand. Kyuubi smiled. The boy 's defense mechanisms were still intact. They had a chance after all. "Except here I think it's the other way around. You took those guys out like they were nothing. Thank you. For saving me and for fixing me up. I'll return the favor, believe it."

"Do not make promises you don't understand the full scope of," Kyuubi warned. "You do not fully grasp what I am or what binds us together. The emotions you feel now are only that. Tomorrow is a different day where new needs will surface and you may realize a promise you made ages ago will doom you and everything you love."

"Umm… Kyu-chan, you have a very pessimistic world view," the blond said with an awkward laugh.

"Such things come with age." The fox turned its eyes to the bleak horizon. _That and pain and bitterness and every other feeling that closes your heart to the world._ Wait, why was it thinking that way? There was something different about itself but the Kyuubi couldn't quiet see what it was. _Whatever it is can wait,_ the chakra construct decided. "To answer your previous question, this is hell or one of them anyway. This world is Sanjiva, where your body is ripped apart by monsters every day. Sanjiva does not recognize death, so each time your body is rebuilt by it. Then the monsters come again and it all starts over."

"That's… inhuman," Naruto whispered as he thought back to the man he'd tried to rescue. "What could anyone do to deserve this?"

"You may feel differently when you have seen what men are capable of," the Kyuubi answered somewhat absentmindedly.

"I know what people are capable of." Something in Naruto's voice made the fox turn to truly look at him. His happy smile was gone. Instead of the joyful child who'd joked only moments ago, Kyuubi looked upon the same serene sadness her father always wore. "And no, I don't think they deserve this."

"Then perhaps Sanjiva will have no power over you," Kyuubi said with a gesture of its tails that reminded Naruto of Shino's one sided 'meh' shrug. "But time breaks all things, men, mountains and kingdoms. Hearts would not be much more of a feat for it. Still, you are kind, and this world's hold over the forgiving is weak in parts. Perhaps that will be our way out."

"How do we find those places?" asked Naruto as a small jolt of excitement went through him. The Genin, naturally, wanted nothing more than to be home right now and he needed an outlet for his limitless energy.

"By looking," the Fox said with a curl of its lips that must have been a smile.

Naruto couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Now where have I heard that one before? Lead the way, Kyu-chan. Just think of me as your much cuter looking shadow."

It didn't know why but, Kyuubi felt the impulse to joke back. Just what was happening to it? _Another time,_ Kyuubi told itself as it walked with the small Genin into the vastness that was Sanjiva. "Hey, Kyuubi," Naruto said after a short ways. "Why do people end up here?" Kyuubi turned to look at him unsure of what the boy could mean. Hell was a concept that almost every culture the fox knew of had developed even if the specifics of it weren't fully known. "I mean," the boy continued sensing his companion's confusion. "Who decides and why? What happened to that man back there. Who looks at him and says 'This will be your life for eternity'? I don't get- no I do get how someone could say that. Just not how they live with it. This place is so… so evil."

"This place isn't evil, Ningen," Kyuubi said turning its gaze back towards the road before them. "It's just a place like any other. The karma that collects here is what shapes everything into what it is. That and those who's karma is drawn to it. Like follows like, so karma that was always hateful and cruel comes here. Many of your Shinobi kin inevitably come to this place. The karma of those who know only violence, retribution and anger can never reach the higher planes…"

"So Kurenai-sensei? Jiji? The Fourth? They all come here?" Naruto asked incredulously. Kyuubi suppressed a smirk. Growing up (should) demand a reevaluation of one's heroes.

"They've killed," Kyuubi said almost carelessly. To it this was nothing new or all that shocking. It was the way the world had always been. "Out of anger, for personal gain, out of pettiness they've taken the life of another. It is only natural they would come here."

"But they never had a chance, Kyu-chan," Naruto objected. "Look at what our world is. War every few years, our only means of survival doing missions for princes and lords. How can anyone say it's their fault when killing is the only way to get by? It's just- just such a self-defeating game."

"I'm afraid I don't understand you, Ningen."

"Ok, look. Let's say we have two people who're just sitting around most of the time. There's no war, there's no food shortage, and their families love them and give them everything. Why would those people ever steal? Or fight? Or do anything? They like sitting around not doing stuff _and they can._ No one is making them go out to find food for themselves. They can just sit there their whole life." Kyuubi nodded. She knew what Naruto would say next. It had to its father years and years ago. "So why should someone who's parents ditched them at three, who had to live on the streets, steeling food out of dumpsters, come to a place like this? It's bullshit," Naruto finished his face red.

"It just is, Ningen," Kyuubi said with a sigh.

"It shouldn't be," Naruto murmured as the remains of a city came into view.

_No it shouldn't,_ agreed the bijuu. "We have more pressing issues to deal with, Ningen." The small fox gestured up ahead. Naruto's eyes went wide as he saw the massive buildings. They looked as if they could be a mile high. Even the Hokage Monument was dwarfed by the smallest of those buildings. "Kit, do as I do. Try to feel the chakra all around you. Start by silencing your own. Reduce it to nothing." If such a thing were possible, Naruto wouldn't struggle with genjutsu. The boy, of course knew this, but his willingness to try anything put to him defeated his common sense. Naruto grought his hands together the way Hinata had shown him for meditation. "No, not like that," Kyuubi corrected. "You are only calming it that way. Steadying its flow throughout your body."

"A hint would be appreciated, Kyu-chan," Naruto grumbled. "I'm kinda new at this."

"I am giving you more than hints, boy, so be grateful," the fox snarled. Despite its size, Kyuubi remained every bit as fearsome as you would expect it to be if it were still the size of a small mountain. "What you are doing, those katas, they are for regulating the flow of chakra through your system. This can create the feeling of serenity some identify with attunement to the world. But it is a false impression. One who is attuned to the world does not feel anything. You become a great void that is filled by the world around it. The greater the void, the moer of the world seeps into you."

"That's all very flowery and all," interrupted Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "But how does that translate to useable advice?"

There was a dangerous silence between the two for a moment. The type that often preceded Sakura driving her fist into some part of Naruto's anatomy. "Perhaps…" the fox said slowly. "Perhaps I'll just show you what I want done and you can work it from there?"

"Nah." There was that dangerous silence again. "I gotta learn to work this kinda stuff out. Sakura-chan keeps telling me a good learner is someone who can figure out what other people are saying even when they're talking gibberish." If a stray fly had flown between them its body would have been utterly destroyed. Finally the danger he was in hit Naruto. "N-not that you're talking nothing but gibberish, Kyu-chan."

It would be a little while longer before Kyuubi realized how strange it was that her mind kept drifting away from the horror of the world she was in. For now the fox couldn't help enjoying the silly moment shared with the oblivious blond boy.

* * *

**That's chapter 9, the start of the Samsara Arc. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**In case it isn't clear (because my writing tends to be so disjointed) Kurama is calling Naruto Ningen because all she's ever called is Kyuubi. It's sorta her turning that level of dismissiveness back onto people. Naruto, naturally, takes it as a joke and possible sign of affection.**

**EDIT: Big thank you to Winto-kun for the correction about Jin. Teach me to try to make stupid jokes. lol**


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